Pediatric Dentistry of Garden City
516-222-5100
Halloween is right around the corner, and with Halloween comes candy! Take a few minutes to go over these kid-friendly candy tips to ensure optimal oral health during this sugary holiday!
Most parents worry about tooth decay and cavities from all the candy consumption surrounding Halloween. To avoid negative impacts from candy, encourage children to avoid excessive consumption of these sugary treats and lessen the amount of time the sugar is present in your child’s mouth.
- After inspecting all Halloween candy, it is OK for your child to eat a few pieces! To help lessen the chance for tooth decay and cavities, have them brush as soon as possible after eating the candy. If a child brushes right after, the impact of the candy on the teeth is minimal. If brushing soon after is not possible, have your child rinse his or her mouth out with water, or chew a sugarless gum after snacking on the candy. The increased saliva from chewing will help wash the sugar off the teeth and xylitol gum helps control the bacterium that causes tooth decay.
- Avoid sticky candy such as taffy, gummy bears, caramel, etc. A sticky candy adheres to children’s teeth and causes decay. Encouraging your child to eat the candy quickly in one sitting decreased the amount of time it is contact with their teeth. Therefore, also avoid eating any candy slowly over an extended period of time like hard candies, breath mints, sucking candies and lollipops.
- Kids can eat candy anytime during the day; there is no “goodtime” of the day or night to eat candy. Consuming candy with a meal, though, helps wash the sweet off the teeth due to increase saliva production.
- Prior to Halloween, visit Pediatric Dentistry of Garden City to have sealants put into your child’s teeth grooves.
- Avoid sugary sodas and juices. They are loaded with sugar; are acidic enough to dissolve away tooth enamel; and are often sipped for long periods of time, resulting in teeth that being bathed with sugar and acid almost continuously throughout the day. Yuck!
Dr. Stacey Reynolds at Pediatric Dentistry of Garden City is taking part in the Halloween Candy Buy-Back Program this sweet season. Children are asked to sell their Halloween Candy to us so we can send it to our troops overseas! Earning cash for candy is a healthy and rewarding alternative for children during Halloween. Pediatric Dentistry of Garden City will “buy” back kids Halloween candy on Tuesday, November 1st from 4:00-6:00pm at their office. Dr. Reynolds will pay $1 per pound (up to 10 pounds) for your unopened candy. The collected Halloween Candy will be given to Operation Gratitude, who will then send the candy to our troops overseas.
Encouraging your children to donate some of their Halloween candy will not only keep their teeth healthy, but they’ll be putting a smile on the faces of US Soldiers overseas.
For more information, call Dr. Reynolds at Pediatric Dentistry of Garden City at 516-222-5100 or visit www.PDofGC.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment