Spooky season is well and truly here and with Halloween comes fun parties, trick or treating and family days out picking pumpkins. However, Halloween may potentially wreak havoc with your dental health and can cause some dental concerns to be more prominent. At Dental Solutions, we’re here to take the fright out of Halloween and help you to look after your teeth with some handy oral health care tips for you and your family.
If there is one thing that kids love at Halloween, it’s trick or treating! After all, enjoying sweets and chocolate is a huge part of Halloween, so the best way to avoid your children eating too many sweets at once and risk damaging their oral health care is for them to enjoy them in moderation.
Once you get back from trick or treating, sit down with them to go through the goodies they’ve collected during the evening. Then, let them choose a few pieces of sweets to enjoy that evening and then put the rest out of sight, allowing them to dip back in as and when you feel is the right time.
Teaching your children the importance of proper oral health care means that you can help them avoid developing cavities and tooth complaints as they get older, so be sure that after any sweet treats, they are brushing their teeth. Try not to say that sweets are “bad”, but instead, that in order to look after their teeth properly, they shouldn’t be eaten all the time.
When you head out on family days out, you might realise that due to the colder weather, your teeth are more sensitive. If this is the case, it’s important to take notice of any teeth sensitivity and take steps towards prevention. In order to treat tooth sensitivity, you need to know what the trigger is behind it, whether it be cold weather, hot drinks or certain foods. Then, once you’ve found the cause, you can take proper steps towards the solution and right treatment.
When you have tooth sensitivity, this is often because some of your enamel has worn away, exposing the delicate inner dental tissue. When this is irritated, it can cause pain and discomfort. Often, tooth sensitivity can be resolved at home with proper oral health care using a specialist toothpaste and mouthwash, however, in some extreme cases, you might need to come in and see us for a full check-up so that we can establish the cause of the issue and recommend the right treatment.
Apple bobbing is a fun and traditional party game at Halloween, but if you have braces or dental implants, it’s probably a good idea to skip! The force used to take part in apple bobbing can cause some people to potentially experience chipped teeth, snapped brace wires or damaged dental implants, which can not only be damaging for your smile but could be costly in terms of repairs!
The same oral health care advice applies to treats such as chewy toffee, hard sweets, toffee apples and crunchy caramels, as these can also cause damage to your teeth and delay any current dental treatment you’re undergoing.
If, after your Halloween celebrations, you notice any changes in your oral health, or simply would like to arrange your next oral health care checkup, contact Dental Solutions today! We’re a family-friendly private dental practice in the heart of Warrington, welcoming new patients for a range of dental treatments, regular checkups and more specialist procedures.
