halloween & spooky sweets – our top tips for reducing sugar dental overload

It’s that time of year again, just as summer is over it creeps up on us with it’s spooky bony fingers like a skeleton in a haunted house.

I’m not going to lie, I love it and loathe it in equal measure. The unnecessary tat, plastic, fire loving costumes, pumpkin waste and sweets. Oh the sweets. But then on the flip side there’s the joy on all the kids faces when they dress up, the decorated pumpkins, silly adults trying to get involved and be scary (but not too much), the cute kids halloween parties then the eventual exhausted crash into bed from having so much fun!

Quick side note before I properly begin, if you’re Australian sweets means lollies, if you’re American sweets means candy. Basically the sugary stuff…..

I’m not anti sweet but the sheer volume of sweets at Halloween terrifies me. Then again my eldest is very susceptible to the sugar high and sugar crash so to let her monitor her own sugar intake would end in disaster. Thankfully as she’s got older she realises that sweets do not agree with her if she has too much.

Sweets in moderation are not a problem, however, too many can cause havoc with our dental health, in adults and especially in children.

Why? too much sugar causes tooth decay and cavities by lowering our the PH in our mouths to super acidic proportions. Adults can rectify this, mostly, by following a good dental routine that includes flossing, interdental use, tongue cleaning and oil pulling. As flossing is not recommended for children until they are 12, brushing is often not enough when copious amounts of sugar is involved.

Here are some top tips on how to avoid cavities, tooth decay and sensitivities this Halloween;

1. Sweets will be eaten so enjoy them but beware, you’ll need to counteract their dental attack later.
2. Once you and/or your little ones have eaten the sweets rinse with water. Sloosh it about and spit it out, don’t drink it. This will get rid of any access sugar that’s hanging about in your mouth and on your tongue.
3. Have a little bit of cheese. Yes cheese. Cheese is has high levels of phosphate and calcium that naturally strengthens teeth and bones. But, almost magically, it helps balance the pH level in your mouth by increasing PH that would have been lowered by the acid in sugar. This means which means less harmful acid, more cleansing saliva and fewer cavities.
4. Don’t clean teeth until 30 minutes after eating. This is pretty standard with all food consumption. If you clean your teeth straight after eating you will be pushing sugars into the teeth. 30 minutes is a good time to wait to avoid this. Even after rinsing with water and eating cheese. Especially on Halloween when you and your littles will have had more sugar than usual.
5. Start your dental routine and be sure not to leave out your gums and tongue by following a simple 3 step dental routine, cleanse your tongue, floss your teeth, brush your teeth with your toothbrush and toothpaste of choice (Organically Epic’s of course 🙂 and then, if you want to add another step, oil pull or use mouthwash if you prefer.

Sugar need not be feared, we are all individual with how sugar effects our bodies, some of us struggle with it more than others. This is the same for our dental health. The above tips will help you all manage your dental health. Prevention is better than a cure of course and anything that reduces tooth decays is always a good thing 🙂

I hope you have a fabulously spooky halloween.

Jayne x