Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

Now that Halloween has come and gone, your ghouls now have bags full of candy that they want to eat all the time.
   
Relax parents, The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says Halloween comes once a year and children can enjoy their treats without harm to their teeth, if the snacking is done sensibly.

Believe it or not, candy is no more likely to cause cavities than most other foods. What is important is how often a child eats. When food is eaten, bacteria living in the mouth produce acid. The acid remains in the mouth for 20 minutes after eating. Children who snack or eat frequently then have multiple acid attacks on their teeth that can lead to tooth decay.

Here are some Halloween candy eating tips for your kids:

Limit how much Halloween candy your children eat. Don’t allow them to store their candy in their room, this makes it less tempting.  

Serve Halloween candy right after meals. Allow children to choose one or two pieces of candy after lunch and/or dinner since an acid attack is already underway due to the meal. Also, increased saliva production will help naturally wash away sugary candy particles and reduce the risk of tooth decay.

Offer your children sugarless gum after they enjoy their candy. Sugarless gum, approved by the American Dental Association, increases saliva production and helps wash away candy particles.

Practice good oral hygiene, including brushing teeth  twice daily and flossing once daily.

Visit your child’s pediatric dentist for regular checkups. Pediatric dentists have specialized training and experience caring specifically for children’s teeth.

Following simple dental hygiene, your children can enjoy the treats from Halloween without the dangers of tooth decay. Help them enjoy Halloween candy in moderation while continuing good oral hygiene and regular dental checkups. Contact Dream Smile Dental for a pediatric dentistry appointment.

At Dream Smile Dental, we believe that visits to the dentist should be a positive experience for a child. We strive to provide a comfortable environment for children to gain confidence throughout their dental treatments. We like to get our pediatric dentistry patients involved and comfortable with their dental health.  Take a look at our latest contest for kids!

As you know, we have a dental activity book for kids. We would like your help in creating this book. Please submit dental activity pages to be used in the next Dream Smile Dental Children’s Activity Book.  All submissions must have a dental theme. Get us your submission through email, fax, mail or come on in and drop it off!

We will choose ten pages for the activity book and the ten winners will receive: recognition in the beginning of the book with a short bio and their photo. Also, your name will appear on your actual activity page in the book. The Contest ends August 1, 2011.

Kids should be taught all about good dental health, beginning with brushing and flossing, and ending with visits to a pediatric dentist twice a year.  Most children understand that they need to brush morning and night. But getting them to go to the dentist may be an entirely different story.

At Dream Smile Dental, we know how hard it is for parents to convince their child to go to the dentist. Inherently, many kids are afraid of the dentist, most likely because they hear adults worrying about it. If your child does not want to go to the dentist, please don’t put it off. Oral health is very important in children and neglecting oral health can lead to other health problems as well as serious oral problems as an adult. Help your child overcome their fear of the dentist.
 
Firstly, don’t let them hear you complaining about going to the dentist, or overhear your fears of the dentist chair. Talking to them about the importance of dental health can have very positive results. Talk to your kids and tell them why it is important to visit the dentist.

Try to make the visit as fun as possible. In fact, at Dream Smile Dental, we have a WII which your child can play as they wait. This may be encouragement enough! Talk to them about our Cavity Free Club. There are many benefits to joining, not the least of which is great oral health. But even better according to the kids, is getting their picture on our website, along with an initiation certificate. If they become the member of the week, they will even have their picture in the newspaper!

Pediatric Dentistry is very important for good oral health. At Dream Smile Dental we want to help you foster this in your children. Contact us with questions or for an appointment today.