Are you ready for Halloween? Get ready for candy, pizza, ice cream, silly string and shaving cream! Halloween is every kid's favorite holiday. But did you know it's your dentist's favorite holiday too? October is National Dental Hygiene Month and everyone should be remembering the rules of your mouth before eating that chocolate bar.
During this time of year teens and children tend to go nuts for candy -- epically on Halloween night. But who could help it? Free candy! But if you have braces or a mouth full of cavities you should follow these helpful tips on how to avoid the pleasure of your dentist filling in a cavity.
During Halloween time everyone has a sugar rush and instead of water, we go to sweet juices, sodas or even coffee. Soft drinks and coffee can stain your teeth easily. The sugar in those drinks will erode the enamel on your teeth. A great way to stop this is by using a straw to "sip" your drinks when drinking those sweet drinks.
Drink water when eating something sugary and tasty. Why, you ask? Because water is just as effective as flossing, which can help stop sugar from damaging your teeth. Also, drink water on a regular basis. It's very good for your teeth and try to drink tap water instead of bottled water.
Use mouthwash and toothpaste everyday. You should be brushing your teeth 2 minutes each day. Anything under 2 minutes will not be as effective. Also try to have some fruit! I use to love fruit but I have a syndrome called "oral allergy". I'm not really allowed to have all those good apples and oranges. Take advantage now because there's someone out there like me who can't have it!
The best is to eat snacks AFTER dinner. The sugary candies attack your teeth 20 minutes after you finish eating. If you have it after dinner, between that period of time you'll brush your teeth and that sugary snack won't be effective. Try chewing sugarless gum because it produces salvia which turns into a natural mouth rinse!
Also floss and have fun this Halloween. Be safe and don't let your Dentist tell you, "I told you so!"
Happy Flossing!
~Watermel8
Author's Note: Thanks so much to associatedcontent.com for the information I needed!
