Choosing Dentist Approved Easter Treats

This Easter, as your kids paint eggs and hunt for those magical bunnies, just remember to be extra mindful of their oral hygiene around all of that sugary candy.

Sugar, as we know, is bad for our teeth. But you might not know what exactly is so bad about it. Does it erode your protective enamel? Not really – that’s more the work of acidic foods. What it does do is create an imbalance in the saliva in your mouth. When sugar is stuck on your teeth and in your saliva, it makes it easier for bacteria to grow. The bacteria is then what erodes the enamel film that protects your teeth. The erosion of enamel then invites in bacteria, which is how cavities are formed. That’s all to say that it’s more important to clean your teeth after eating sugar than it is to cut down on the amount of sugar you eat generally speaking.

With that knowledge, it’s easy to ensure that your own teeth are clean after you’ve eaten sugar. What’s less obvious is knowing whether or not your children’s teeth are as clean as they should be. As previously mentioned, it’s not about how much sugar one eats, but how thoroughly the teeth are cleaned after sugar has been eaten. For this reason, we advise you monitor the type of candy your children eat, especially if you know that certain kinds will be more difficult to clean off of teeth, or if you know your children won’t be as thorough with their cleaning. Sticky candy like marshmallows or toffee will really stick in the crevices of your teeth, and so require a more thorough clean.

How to Get That Thorough Clean

Regardless of how sticky or sugary your Easter treats are, with the proper cleaning routine, your teeth can stay clean. If you don’t know what that is, it’s brushing from molars to your front two teeth (making sure to fully brush the front and back of each tooth) for 1-2 minutes. Also, flossing your teeth removes plaque which (if left for too long) can become tartar, a difficult layer of hard bacteria film on your teeth.

If all that talk of sugar and how it may affect your teeth is daunting, schedule a cleaning with us for right after the Easter holiday. That way, you can be sure that your teeth will remain healthy after the long weekend and beyond. Call us today to book an appointment at (587) 355-2524.