Health News
Halloween candy can rot your teeth.
At Halloween, the issue is not just sugar, it's how often you eat it. Often, kids bring enough candy home from trick-or-treating to last a lifetime, but then eat the candy in a few days.
Every time we eat or drink something that contains sugar or starches, bacteria in our mouth use the sugar and starch to produce acids. These acids eat away at tooth enamel and cause cavities.
With Halloween candy, the problem is twofold, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Not only do kids increase the amount of sugar consumed, they also increase the frequency at which they eat it. hat increases the exposure of their teeth to sugar, which increases acid exposure, which can cause cavities.
The University of Louisville School of Dentistry has worked for the past decade to inform the students in the Jefferson County Public Schools of the increased risk of cavities during the Halloween season. Over the years, the school's program has provided more than 25,000 students with free education about oral health and general health. This year, the dentistry freshmen continued the tradition and went to more than 70 classrooms and spoke to 3,300 students about the importance of oral health, especially during the Halloween season. The focus of their discussion was to teach the students about candy and the decay process.
The Dental and Craniofacial Research Institute offers these tooth-friendly tips to decrease the chance of tooth decay, especially important during the months after Halloween, when children (and even some adults!) see increases in both volume and frequency of sugar:
Limit between-meal snacks. Save candy, cookies, soda and other sugary drinks for special occasions. Limit fruit juice. Don't eat or drink anything with sugar in after bedtime tooth brushing. Brush your teeth. Use fluoride toothpaste, especially if you have well water or only drink bottled water.
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Health News
Halloween candy hikes risk of cavities, not just from more sugar, but from more frequent eating of it; here are tooth-friendly tips
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| Photo from EnviroDad.com |
At Halloween, the issue is not just sugar, it's how often you eat it. Often, kids bring enough candy home from trick-or-treating to last a lifetime, but then eat the candy in a few days.
Every time we eat or drink something that contains sugar or starches, bacteria in our mouth use the sugar and starch to produce acids. These acids eat away at tooth enamel and cause cavities.
With Halloween candy, the problem is twofold, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Not only do kids increase the amount of sugar consumed, they also increase the frequency at which they eat it. hat increases the exposure of their teeth to sugar, which increases acid exposure, which can cause cavities.
The University of Louisville School of Dentistry has worked for the past decade to inform the students in the Jefferson County Public Schools of the increased risk of cavities during the Halloween season. Over the years, the school's program has provided more than 25,000 students with free education about oral health and general health. This year, the dentistry freshmen continued the tradition and went to more than 70 classrooms and spoke to 3,300 students about the importance of oral health, especially during the Halloween season. The focus of their discussion was to teach the students about candy and the decay process.
The Dental and Craniofacial Research Institute offers these tooth-friendly tips to decrease the chance of tooth decay, especially important during the months after Halloween, when children (and even some adults!) see increases in both volume and frequency of sugar:
- Brushing Teeth Twice A Day, Two Minutes At A Time, Is The Way To Prevent Cavities, A New Campaign Advises
Kids should brush their teeth twice a day for two whole minutes at a time, a new public-service campaign urges. The ?Kids? Healthy Mouths? campaign includes TV spots, print ads, a website, social media messages and other materials, reports Jennifer LaRue...
- Diabetes Can Cause Gum Disease And Tooth Decay
Though it's commonly known that diabetes can affect organ function and eyesight, an oral-health expert points out that the disease can also cause tooth decay and gum disease. "Diabetics with uncontrolled glucose levels tend to develop more gum disease...
- More Young Kids Going Under Anesthesia To Fix Bad Dental Problems
Preschoolers are increasingly having to undergo extensive surgery to get fix the cavities they've gotten from lack of brushing, get root canals or have teeth extracted. Five years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the number...
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It wouldn't be Halloween without candy and chocolate in pillowcases and paper sacks. But with childhood obesity and diabetes rates looking as scary as the ax murderers and zombies knocking at the door, parents may consider handing out something other...
- Tooth Varnish Saving Smiles In Clark County
To protect about 3,000 Clark County children from tooth decay, local dentists and volunteers headed to schools to apply a fluoride varnish earlier this month. "We knew this material worked, although it was a new material, and there wasn't a lot of...