This time of year, everyone gets excited for spooky fun, but to be honest, you probably don’t want to experience something unpleasant like a dental emergency. Instead of trick-or-treating or having fun, you could be dealing with throbbing pain! A fractured tooth or toothache can put a huge damper on your holiday fun if you’re not careful, so here are some tips to get you through Halloween without dental problems.
Maintain a Daily Oral Hygiene Routine
After a late-night Halloween party or a sugar-filled trick-or-treating spree, it may be tempting to skip brushing and flossing your teeth and head straight to bed. However, it’s important to keep up both of these healthy habits, especially during this time of year.
Allowing sugar molecules to remain in your mouth helps cavity-causing bacteria thrive and grow. Without daily hygiene, they produce an acid that erodes tooth enamel and penetrate deep to the nerve, causing pain.
Make Sure You’re Current with Dental Visits
If you haven’t seen your dentist in a while, you should schedule a visit. Even if they don’t find anything wrong, you can have more peace of mind, and your teeth will feel clean and fresh!
Limit the Sweet Treats
Although it can be difficult to have self-control, you need to try to keep indulgence in sugar in check. Give yourself a little bit of leeway to enjoy yummy goodies, but snacking on candy or cookies all day will result in a much higher risk of tooth decay. If at all possible, stay away from sticky, gummy candy and treats as well as hard candy.
Do Not Bite Down on Hard Candy
Out of all the types of candy that are bad for your teeth, hard candy is high on the list. Sucking and keeping it in your mouth for a long time enables acid-producing bacteria to spread, but biting down on it can be just as disastrous. Your teeth may be the strongest material in your body, but they can chip, crack, or break when put under too much stress.
Drink More Water
While it’s okay to indulge in a pumpkin latte every now and then during the season, try to have more water throughout the day. Water rinses food debris and bacteria out of your mouth, reducing the chances of a cavity. Plus, not only is water completely free of sugar, but it is also beneficial in many ways for your overall health, such as helping your heart.
No Halloween would be complete without some innocent frights and scares, but a dental emergency can ruin your fun. Make sure you follow these tips, so you can do everything you want to this Halloween without putting your smile at risk.
About the Practice
At Aesthetic & Family Dentistry of North Bethesda, we believe that the best approach to dental health is prevention. We encourage our patients to do what they can to avoid dental emergencies, but we are here to help when these situations do happen. To schedule an appointment—whether for routine or emergency care—just call our office at 301-658-7647 or contact us online.