Now that Halloween is over and your house is full of chocolate bars and gummies galore; you may be wondering how to protect your teeth. Dr. Scott Norton (practicing Endodontist in Louisville, KY) says that keeping your teeth from looking like the Jack-o-lantern that you just carved is easier than you think if you follow a few simple rules.
The first and most important rule for keeping your teeth safe from sugar is to brush your teeth often. Ideally, brushing your teeth after sugar consumption is the number one safeguard. Since brushing immediately after eating candy isn’t always possible, try swishing and rinsing with water. Rinsing with water will help remove some of the sugar on your teeth but not all.
Next, keep in mind that eating more candy all at once is better (for your teeth) than spacing it out over time. So, if you’re going to eat a candy bar do it all at once rather than snacking on it a little bit at a time all day. The concept is very simple, an entire candy bar consumed at once is one sugar attack on your teeth. Unlike splitting the same candy bar into four parts and snacking on it four different times throughout the day. This action is a sugar attack on your teeth times four. By reintroducing your teeth to sugar and other carbohydrates, multiple times throughout the day, you are increasing the likelihood for tooth decay.
As an Endodontist in Louisville, Dr. Norton recommends that you enjoy your Halloween candy in moderation and limit the amount of times per day/week that you are subjecting your teeth to the destructive sugar. Take care of your teeth for many Halloweens to come.