All the sweet and savory treats served during this Halloween season may be nice, but they can certainly cause problems for your teeth. Luckily, there are a few things you can do that will help you keep your teeth healthy and still enjoy some of your favorite treats that tend to be served only during the holidays.

Snacking on Nuts? Use a Nutcracker!

Nuts are available all year round for snacking, but it seems like they make their seasonal debut during Halloween. While nuts are a heart healthy snack and good for you, they can cause huge problems for your teeth if you aren’t careful.

Many people who snack on nuts like to put the entire shelled nut in their mouth and crack it open with their teeth. This saves time and allows you to quickly eat the nut, but doing this can really damage your teeth. When you crack open the nut with your teeth, you could end up damaging existing dental work or even fracturing your teeth.

Preserve your teeth and avoid costly problems by grabbing a nutcracker and using it to crack open the nuts. Better yet, choose to snack on unshelled nuts where all the work has already been done for you! Careful of your orthodontic brackets though!

Choose Your Sugary Snacks Carefully this Halloween

Hard candies, popcorn balls, and other Halloween sweet treats may taste good, but due to their texture they can cause you a lot of dental problems. The harder candies, such as jawbreakers and suckers, can fracture your teeth or cause small chips to appear. Softer or stickier candy, such as taffy or caramel apples won’t fracture your teeth, but it can loosen fillings and damage crowns.

The thing to do to avoid damaging your teeth on sugary snacks is to choose the snacks you eat carefully. If you can avoid eating hard candies, taffy, and other treats do it. If you absolutely must have some of these sweet treats, make sure to eat them carefully and brush your teeth afterwards.

Avoid Sugary Drinks which Cause Tooth Decay and Choose Water

Sugary drinks are all over the place during the holidays. While it might be tempting to grab a cup of cocoa or a glass of goulish juice during a holiday gathering, you may want to think again if you want to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Sugary drinks can cause you to experience extensive tooth decay. If left untreated that tooth decay can turn into cavities or even gum disease. In an effort to keep your teeth and gums healthy, pass on the sugar drinks and choose to drink water or carbonated water.

If you do consume any sugary drinks, there are things you can do to avoid damaging your teeth from these sweet drinks. First, you can drink water. Water will help wash away some of the sugars in your mouth. Second, you can brush your teeth. Immediately brushing your teeth after consuming sugary drinks will help reduce your chance of experiencing tooth decay.

Don’t Stray from Your Regular Oral Hygiene Routine

People get busy during the holidays, but that doesn’t mean you can stop engaging in your regular oral hygiene routine. It is important to make sure that you brush at least three times a day and floss at least once. Even if you get home at midnight and are super tired, make sure you brush and floss as you would any other day.

If you are heading out of town to visit with friends and family, make sure you pack all the essentials you will need to keep your teeth clean. Just because you are away from home and celebrating the holidays, doesn’t mean you can skip on brushing and flossing your teeth.

Even if you follow these tips, problems may still occur. If you encounter any problems, whether it is a cavity, tooth sensitivity, cracked tooth, or loose filling, or you are in need of a regular dental checkup, call Smiles by Shields. Smiles by Shields offers holistic dental services to the Jacksonville, Florida area. Dental services offered include routine cleanings and exams, fillings and crowns, dental implants, and even orthodontics.

Our friendly office staff is looking forward to helping you keep a healthy smile and teeth this Halloween. Call the office today to schedule an appointment.