Halloween is fast approaching – one of the sweetest and most cavity-producing days of the year! It really is one of the most fun holidays for kids. However, it often comes with a lot of internal struggles and questions from parents… 

• How much candy should I let my children eat?
• Can I protect my kids’ health from endless sugar intake?
• How do I balance letting kids have fun trick or treating with making sure their health isn’t impacted?

It’s not an easy territory to navigate but we have a few suggestions that might help. Parents, here’s how to balance this sugar rush of a day without compromising your kids’ oral health.

Acceptance

For parents that have kids participating in Halloween, there needs to be a certain level of acceptance that comes along with it. There will be candy, and there’s not much you can do to stop that sugar wave. By internalizing and truly accepting this fact, then it’s easier to move forward, set some boundaries, and to enjoy and have fun on this day that only happens once a year.

Boundaries

Halloween and trick or treating doesn’t have to be too over the top, especially if your kids are young. Perhaps limit the amount of trick or treating time to one hour, or have boundaries that restrict the adventure to a two-block radius, or give the kids a small bucket with the rule that they are done once the bucket is full. 

Candy rules

The real challenge usually happens once the kids get home and see their loot spread out in front of them. It’s cute to watch kids sort their haul. What they like, what they’ll eat first, and what they’ll eat only when the good stuff is gone. This is where it’s a good idea to create a plan for how much they will consume, and when. 

Some parents opt to keep the candy out of reach of the kids, and distribute the candy on a set schedule (a piece every day with lunch and one for after dinner, for example). Or if it’s on the honour system, then it can come with monitoring how much is left at the end of each week. Whatever works for you. However, having candy rules is also a good way to build communication and trust with the kids.

Focus on oral health

We all know that kids’ teeth are going to be exposed to an increased level of sugar at the end of October. Which means it’s a great time to double down on oral health. This might include some negotiations about eating candy versus longer brushing time or better flossing habits. Or that if the kid is allowed to go trick or treating, it will be followed by a trip to the dentist at the end of November with no complaints!

Candy time should definitely be balanced with really good dental health habits, and that means brushing at least twice a day. Young children are definitely susceptible to cavities and tooth decay, and it can be a challenge to create new habits once bad habits are in place. So, we recommend you start early by introducing health care to children at a very early age. This will help normalize the process and make it easier for kids to invest in their own dental care.

Talk about dental care

Halloween can be a really challenging day for parents. While it’s cute and fun to see the kids so excited, it can also be a difficult day to navigate. How do you balance the fun with their sugar intake and overall well-being? We suggest parents use the day as an opportunity to have conversations about dental care and oral health. It’s also a great way to practice giving kids boundaries while still letting them have fun. Of course – every parent will have their own rules and will know what works best for them!

But if you are concerned about the effects of sugar on your kids’ teeth after Halloween, or any day for that matter, please book an appointment with us. It’s never too early to start teaching kids about the dentist and oral health. We’d love to help them on their journey. 

Happy Halloween!

Nadine Smith

The post Avoid the Spooky Smile: Health Tips for Halloween appeared first on Semiahmoo Dental Centre.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is a little self care. Even small things can add up and make a big difference in long-term health and well-being. And a great time to put some new habits in place is at the start of the new year. You don’t have to drastically change your life; however, making some small adjustments to develop healthy, sustainable habits will pay off in the long run.

One thing that people don’t think much about is how connected our overall health is. When one thing is out of tune, it can affect the operation elsewhere in the body. And a lot of big picture physical health starts with oral health. Good oral health begins with a dental checkup.

We’ve come up with a list of things you can do to improve and maintain your oral health throughout 2022. Small steps that can lead to long-lasting overall health.

#1 Start 2022 with a Dental Checkup

One of the best things you can do for your health, now and in the long-term, is get into a regular dental check up schedule. While it’s recommended to visit the dentist twice (or more) each year, your dentist will advise on the schedule that’s right for you.

There are plenty of reasons why it’s important to visit your dentist for a check up. They will:

• Clear off the plaque to prevent rot and infection
• Notice the beginning of any problems and advise on how to prevent further issues
• Fix dental issues before they become really painful and irreversible
• Help if you need things like mouth guards or devices to keep your teeth safe during sports/activities or while you sleep
• Schedule anything further that you may need like deep cleaning

#2 Make Small Changes to your Diet

What you eat and drink drastically affects your teeth, even if you are good at brushing and flossing. If you have a sweet tooth for sugary foods and drinks, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and coffee, or simply don’t get enough water each day, your mouth and teeth are the first to be affected.

For example, when you do drink an adequate amount of water daily, your salivary glands are activated, helping you break down food, which helps your body absorb more nutrients, which helps your organs and systems work more efficiently, which keeps you resistant to disease and illness. Water also keeps your digestion system moving nicely. And lastly, the saliva washes your teeth with calcium, fluoride, and phosphate.

Increasing the amount of water, limiting alcohol and sugar intake, reducing (or quitting) smoking all create a positive chain reaction throughout your body. The new year is the perfect time to revisit habits. Even more so, it’s the time to make small changes that lead to big results.

#3 Bring in Mindfulness

You’ve probably heard this buzzword before, and maybe you’re wondering how it applies to your oral health. Well, mindfulness helps bring you into the present moment; allowing you to engage in your behaviours and decisions with more clarity. The result is that a person will pay more attention to the little things that previously were habits done with little care.

An example of how this applies to oral health is perhaps you didn’t notice that you grind your teeth or clench your jaw when you’re stressed. Maybe you didn’t realize that you crave sugar or a drink when things feel overwhelming. Or maybe you didn’t see that you skipped out on tooth brushing on evenings that you were exhausted.

Mindfulness is a habit that builds over time; you might see how it can lead to little improvements, especially when it comes to oral health.

Making a visit to your dentist one of your first priorities of 2022 will help you get in the groove of good dental health. Once you go once, it gets easier to keep up with the routine. Put the next appointment in your calendar, create some accountability, and take your oral health – and overall health – into your own hands. If you are in South Surrey or White Rock and are looking for a dentist, we would love to meet you — reach out to schedule an appointment today!

Nadine Smith

The post Why You Should Start 2022 With a Dental Checkup appeared first on Semiahmoo Dental Centre.

Everyone has heard the line that sugar rots your teeth. It could very well be one of the first lessons drilled into your mind when you were child!

But is it really true? Does sugar really affect your teeth, or is this something parents say to scare their children into eating less candy?

The truth is that YES, sugar really does cause your teeth to rot. Here’s how:

After you consume something sweet, the sugar creates a reaction with the plaque bacteria already on your teeth which produces acid. It is this acid that dissolves the tooth’s enamel, wearing away at it and eventually resulting in tooth decay, cavities, or other problems that will need to be addressed by your dentist.

It wasn’t just a threat! Sugar really is bad for your teeth.

In order to keep your teeth in good shape and to maintain good oral health, it’s important to stay diligent. Here are a few tips to consider to avoid cavities caused by sugar, and to keep your teeth strong for a long time.

Be mindful of your sugar intake

Sugar hides out in high quantities in so much of our food – especially the packaged kinds. That’s why it’s important to read labels and get a real sense of how much sugar you are actually ingesting. You might be surprised once you start paying attention. Here’s a handy conversion: 4g of sugar equals 1 level teaspoon. Once you can visualize it this way, you might be horrified to learn that one can of soda, for example, contains around 40g of sugar. That’s right – that is 10 teaspoons of sugar! 

Other sneaky culprits include many “healthy” snacks – granola and cereals, trail mix, milk alternatives, yogurt. And the next time you buy a bottle of wine, spirits or beer, take a second to check the sugar content. It might surprise you! 

Get regular dental cleanings

As explained, it’s not only the sugar that causes the acidic reaction that eats away at the teeth, but the way that it interacts with existing bacteria in your mouth. In order to get plaque completely removed, and therefore eliminate the other needed component in the chemical reaction, you will need to have regular deep teeth cleanings from your dentist.

It’s also important to remember to maintain your oral health daily. That means brushing and flossing twice a day and at the very least, rinsing after each meal. Removing sugar before it has the chance to react to the bacteria on your teeth will help ensure that your teeth remain healthy and strong.

Another reason why it’s so important to visit your dentist regularly is so that they are able to see problems as they are starting, and to prevent them from becoming an issue that might even require surgery. 

If you do have cavities or other issues stemming from decay, it’s important to address them right away by following the advice of your dentist. When it comes to oral health, prevention is key! And that means both avoiding foods and drinks that will harm your teeth, and maintaining regular routines to guard against disease and decay.

Nadine Smith

The post What Does Sugar Do To Teeth? appeared first on Semiahmoo Dental Centre.