Healthy Smiles for Your Kids at Halloween

Halloween is one of the most looked-forward to celebrations of the year for children and adults too - dressing up, visiting haunted houses and going door-to-door for candy and plenty of it. Can you ever take away their treat out of trick-or-treating? Not really. You can get the best of both with simple and healthy Halloween tips, without taking away the treats and the candy from the celebration!

The Langley Dental Centre has recommended simple oral health-care tips and practices to ensure you enjoy the occasion, while still keeping your oral health; So adults and kids need not worry about cavities this Halloween.

Here are some tricks for your treats to ensure good oral health:

Time your treats for just-after-meals: While anytime is best to eat candy, there’s a more strategic way to indulge without ruining your teeth. Keep away sweets to enjoy them just after mealtime so that your intake is limited, and the excess saliva produced during mealtime will also help wash away the sugary residues stuck between teeth.

Brush, Floss and Rinse: Have your child brush, floss and rinse his/her teeth and mouth after eating sugary treats. Sugar is not just in candy, it’s also in fruit juices, pop, and mixed alcohol-based drinks. In case the toothbrush and floss are not accessible at school or a friend’s place, it would be best to chew sugarless gum to help get the saliva flowing.

Have Dairy foods: Cheese is a healthy complement to sweets because of its nutritious value with high calcium content. Its best to finish meals and snacks with cheese or milk. This helps neutralize the acids produced by oral bacteria and re-mineralize areas of early tooth decay.

Avoid harmful candy: Lollipops, jawbreakers (hard candy) or sticky toffees, caramels, raisins, tortilla chips, strawberries and homemade cookies can be a sticky event for kids and damaging for oral health too. These sticky foods tend to remain in the mouth for a longer time, if brushing or flossing is not done after a meal. Keep stickers or a Halloween-themed toothbrush handy to exchange them for sweets.

Moderation is key: Anything in moderation is fine as it is with sweets. Eating sweets in moderation and for days, instead of weeks is safe ie. limiting intake of sugary foods for a short time is better. Establishing discipline or a time to eat candy helps control excess intake of candy.

Following these simple tricks while enjoying your treats can help keep your oral health not only during Halloween, but all year through, for your kids and for the entire family.

Happy Halloween Day!