9310 Carmel Mountain Rd., Ste. A
San Diego, CA 92129
Halloween is a fun time for kids and adults, and it’s always fun to celebrate with spooky activities and tasty treats. But there’s one scary thing about Halloween: tooth decay!
A diet high in sugar means a higher risk of tooth decay. How can you avoid tooth decay this Halloween and make sure you and your family keep your smiles healthy while celebrating? Here are a few tips from Carmel Mountain Dental Care:
Eating a meal helps stimulate saliva production, which can clean away sugary food particles from your teeth. Also, you and your kids will likely feel full after dinner. This will help ensure that you don’t eat too much candy before bedtime. For these reasons, we recommend mostly eating candy as a treat after meals.
One of the best ways to fight back against tooth decay is to wash away sugar and candy particles from your mouth. Simply drinking a glass of water after eating candy can help remove the majority of sugar from your mouth, and help you fight back against cavities.
Make sure you and your kids are brushing at least twice per day for two minutes, and are flossing once per day. In fact, you may want to consider brushing three times per day to help fight back against candy-induced cavities during the holiday season!
This may seem counter-intuitive, but you should eat your treats all at once in a single session, rather than snacking on candy throughout the day. Why? Because constantly eating sugar will create a sugar-rich, acidic environment inside your mouth. Your saliva will not be able to maintain a proper pH, and this can lead to a higher risk of decay.
If you eat your candy all at once, it’s easier for your mouth to adjust and maintain the proper pH. You can also rinse or brush right afterward to ensure that you eliminate most of the sugar from your teeth.
As far as candy goes, plain chocolate bars are probably the best for your teeth, though sticky additions like nougat and caramel are not quite as good for your pearly whites. Chocolate is easy to rinse away and does not tend to stick to your teeth as much as gummy candies do.
With these simple tips, you and your kids can indulge in sweet treats without fear of tooth decay this Halloween season. Make sure you schedule a teeth cleaning at Carmel Mountain Dental Care before or after Halloween! We focus on both general dentistry and pediatric dental care, so an oral exam and cleaning will ensure that you and your kids have healthy smiles. To get started, just give us a call at (858) 484-4880, or stop by our office at 9310 Carmel Mountain Rd, Ste A, San Diego, CA 92129.
First visit to Carmel Mountain Dental Care? Schedule your New Patient Appointment today to meet the team and get the quality care you deserve at Carmel Mountain Dental Care in Rancho Peñasquitos. Our New Patient Special includes a comprehensive exam, cleaning, x-rays, and a personalized treatment plan.
