After Halloween festivities full of scares, family time, Halloween pumpkins and candy, a routine visit to your dentist can save you a lot of trouble. Fractured teeth, cavities and other complications: don’t let your Halloween festivities change your good dental hygiene habits!
The team at the Centre Dentaire & d’Implantologie Boucherville explains why it is important to think about your dental appointments after Halloween, whether for yourself or for your children.
Tooth Decay, The Enemy of a Healthy Mouth
You probably know that the most appreciated aspect of Halloween for kids and adults alike is trick-or-treating. It appeals to anyone with a sweet tooth, and there’s nothing wrong with eating candy once in a while.
Candy or sweets are not automatically bad for your health: in fact, they are so because of the very large amounts of sugar they contain.
Sugar helps the formation of cavities in the mouth, especially if the dental hygiene routine is not complete or regular.
In the case of children, the risk is higher for these reasons:
- Tooth brushing autonomy may not have been reached yet
- Your child refuses to brush his or her teeth
If the problem is not quickly resolved, tooth decay will form much more easily. Tooth brushing aims primarily to remove plaque and bacteria such as those that cause cavities.
There is no secret here: your dentist can take care of the cleaning and the dental examination and check your teeth.
This examination is even more vital for children, whose teeth are still forming. Avoid the risks!
A Dental Check-Up After Halloween: Why?
In the excitement, you or your children might eat your Halloween collected sweets sooner than desired!
Often made up of different types of sweets (hard, soft, sticky, etc.), your candy harvest and its consumption can expose your teeth to problems that may not have appeared otherwise.
These problems can create dental emergencies if a weakened tooth is not identified in time and breaks, for example.
Post-Halloween dental check-up allows you to see how the teeth change over time. If sensitivities are revealed, you can be more careful during your Christmas festivities!
In addition to being able to provide all the dental care needed, prevention reduces the amount of care required in the long run. Dental cleanings, on the other hand, target areas missed by brushing, which can be crucial after festivities filled with sweets!
Establishing a good routine of dental cleaning and check-up visits is a true win-win situation for everyone.
My Child Refuses to Brush!
For adults, brushing teeth is part of the daily hygiene routine. But what about children? Earlier, we mentioned how children have trouble brushing their teeth. So, what can you do?
There are many tricks to help them integrate tooth brushing into their routine:
- Pretend it’s a game;
- Brush your teeth at the same time as them, which also allows you to supervise their brushing;
- Personalize their toothbrush (their favorite color, stickers, etc.).
Immediately after Halloween parties and the following days, special attention should be paid to your child’s brushing. Of course, attention should be paid every day, but be extra vigilant for this occasion. And most importantly: don’t forget to floss!
This may be the hardest habit to get into, but it’s to your advantage to do it as soon as possible.
Both children and parents should floss: cavities between teeth can be prevented by a good flossing habit.
Another very important aspect of taking control of your oral health is to let your children feel comfortable and alleviate their potential fear of the dentist as early as possible.
At the Centre Dentaire & d’Implantologie Boucherville, we know how to serve each and every one of your specific needs with care and attention to ensure that you continue to enjoy your dental hygiene.
Consult our services to find out what we can do for your oral health. Our dental clinic in Boucherville will give you a radiant smile!