Tips For A Healthy Halloween

It would be hard to ask your kids, or even yourself, to completely refrain from eating candy this Halloween. The unhealthy sweets have become a necessary part of the scary holiday.

• Put a lid on your candy supply. You might not think that adding one thin, easily removable barrier between you and the candy could do much of anything, but it can! Not only will it make it more difficult for your kids to access, it will give you a moment to question whether or not that chocolate bar is really necessary.
• Always rinse, but never brush after eating candy. Rinsing your mouth with water after eating something sugary helps dissolve the sugar in your mouth and wash it off the surfaces of your teeth. While brushing might seem like a way to do this even more effectively, it can actually be harmful to your teeth, grinding the sugar into your enamel.
• If you know that you and your kids might be consuming candy regularly throughout the weeks that follow Halloween, cut back on sugar in another area. Pass up fruit drinks and sodas, and opt for unsweetened coffee or tea.
• Everyone has some candies they prefer more than others. Go through your candy stash with your kids and have them each choose so many pieces they’d like to keep (e.g. 15 pieces). Consider donating or giving away what’s left over.
• Make gum a treat! Keep any gum your kids get during their trick or treating and encourage weighing it just as equally as any other piece of candy. Gum, while sweet, doesn’t leave sugary residue on the surface of teeth.

It couldn’t hurt following the Halloween season to visit your dentist! Call Dr. D’Alfonso of Lakeway Cosmetic Dentistry today and schedule an appointment.