Trick or treating is fun for kids, but an anxious time for parents-all those sweeties playing havoc with your child’s teeth.
The odds are that your child will be going trick-or-treating, which means lots of treats, mostly sweeties. There are a few things you can do to minimize the risk of those sweeties harming your child’s teeth. A few simple tips can make a huge impact!…
Avoid sticky situations
Sticky sweeties actually cause havoc with your teeth; sticking to teeth, allowing the sugar to eat it’s way through your enamel. Avoid sticky sweets like gummy bears, sour sweeties and toffee completely, or try to minimize the amount being consumed.
Sweet options
Chocolate may actually be the best option for keeping damaging sugars to a minimum. Dark chocolate is also known to have a compound in it that actually hardens enamel and may protect your tooth from decay.
Time of day
Mealtime is the best time of day for eating sweet treats. Saliva produced during meals helps wash away any bacteria and damaging sugars.
Portion size
Encourage your child to eat fun-sized sweeties instead of full size. The smaller portions have just as much flavor but a fraction of the sugar.
Healthy dinner
Make sure your child has a meal before they go trick or treating – this will reduce any sweet cravings until they get home where you can then check over them.
Chewing gum
Chewing sugar-free gum helps to increase saliva flow, this helps wash away acids and bacteria present after eating sweeties.
Brush after eating
Brushing teeth after eating sweeties is the best way to keep them cavity-free. Have your child brush their teeth as soon after eating sweetie as possible to remove any harmful bacteria.
Water
Drinking water after eating sweeties will help wash away some of the sugar that may be stuck to their teeth.
Healthy snacks
Try healthier alternatives instead of sweeties – check out here for some fun Halloween healthier options: https://realfood.tesco.com/curatedlist/healthier-halloween-treats.html
Visit your Dentist
And lastly, visit your Dentist regularly. This will prevent problems from occurring and catch those that do occur early, when easier to treat.