Halloween is always a special treat for kids. And speaking of treats, this highly anticipated holiday provides the perfect excuse for children to engorge themselves on sugary snacks of every kind. No guilt necessary. It doesn’t really matter what adults say about sweet treats; consuming candy is one of the main reasons for being a child in the first place, at least as far as kids are concerned. Although adults should probably grant their kids the right to almost go into a sugar coma once a year, there is still a way to go about enjoying this holiday without allowing kids to harm their teeth.
Even when kids stuff their gullets with every type of sweet snack imaginable, it should not result in any harm to their teeth, since no one develops tooth decay overnight. The main thing to focus on is good oral hygiene habits that add up to protection against tooth decay over time.
The good news is that encouraging proper oral hygiene is not as difficult as you may imagine. You can begin by educating yourself about the types of candies that your kids love. For example, treats like lollipops and suckers tend to remain in the mouth longer than other types of candies, which may be harmful to teeth. Even so, if your child brushes their teeth immediately after eating a soccer or lollipop, no harm should come to them.
It is also important to realize that certain types of sticky candies are not good for kids with braces or other types of dental work that could retain sugar and give safe harbor to harmful bacteria. When you are shopping for Halloween treats for your kids or trick-or-treaters, be sure to thoughtfully select varieties of candies that are more friendly to teeth and will not take too long to finish.
It is an irrefutable fact that sugar leads to tooth decay and cavities. But this unwelcome development can only occur when two things happen: the kid has too much sugar in their mouth too often and does nothing to protect their teeth.
Halloween is also a good opportunity to reinforce the idea that regular brushing helps to prevent tooth decay and cavities. At this time, you can let them know that tooth decay is caused by the very sugary treats that they long for. You can instruct them to immediately brush their teeth after eating their Halloween candy so that sugar does not remain in their mouth long enough to result in tooth decay. At the very least, allow them to rinse their mouth several times to flush out any remaining candy.
For adults who simply cannot help themselves when it comes to the temptation of Halloween treats, go ahead and indulge yourself along with your kids. As an adult, you know that an occasional indulgence in sugary snacks is not harmful when you maintain healthy oral hygiene habits. Enjoy the chance to have fun with your kids and share their happiness over greedily gobbling sinful Halloween treats, even as you set a good example by being responsible for your teeth and gum health.