Halloween can be a challenging time, particularly if you or your child has braces and fancies that cheeky piece of candy. But it doesn’t have to be the spooky day from hell – below is some advice on how to tackle the Halloween period and keep your child’s teeth as healthy as possible…
Halloween foods you can eat if you have braces
Of course, there are certain foods you will have to avoid, such as chewy confectionary like toffee, caramel and some chewy start-based foods such as bagels. These foods can increased your chance of developing tooth decay and inflamed gums, as the food particles can easily become lodged in your brace hardware. You don’t not want a situation where one of your brace wires slips out of place because of eating certain foods as this can expose you to scratches inside your mouth.
Alternatives could include melt-in-your-mouth type foods such as dark chocolate peanut butter cups, milkshakes, gingerbread and ice-cream. Of course, these foods should be enjoyed in moderation due to their higher-than-average sugar content and you should make sure you brush carefully after consumption as well as drinking lots of water.
Looking after your child’s teeth after Halloween
Make sure your child brushes correctly in the days surrounding Halloween, as they’re likely to have eaten foods that contain more sugar around this time of year. You may have to ensure that your child takes extra care with cleaning their brace around this time to avoid any of the risks cited so far.
Minimally-invasive brace treatments
If you’re not keen on the idea of limiting your diet, Invisalign could be a better option for your child over fixed brace methods. Invisalign is a removable treatment that allows the patient to continue eating the foods they love. Invisalign makes it much easier to maintain good dental hygiene as you have the liberty of removing them for 2 hours each day to brush and eat.
If you would like more information about how to keep your teeth in good health over the Halloween period or you would like to arrange an appointment at Park Lane, please do not hesitate to contact us.