Cavities

Now that we’ve had our fun with costumes, trick or treating, and a night of some extra pieces of candy, we thought some of you might be wondering about your teeth. So what is a cavity, and why can candy cause cavities?

A cavity is like a sick spot on your tooth. Some of the germs (bacteria) in our mouth like to eat sugar. Whether it’s from something sweet like halloween candy, or a carbohydrate rich snack like goldfish, sugars and carbohydrates serve as food for the bacteria too! They process these sugars and release acid onto our teeth, which weakens spots on our teeth overtime, eventually leading to a cavity. 

In addition to the bacteria making acid, our mouths naturally become more acidic when we eat anything, and then slowly moves up to a more neutral level. This is why more frequent snacking or drinking non-water beverages puts everyone at a higher risk for developing cavities. It’s not always about what you eat, but how often you eat those sugary snacks. 

With Halloween fresh in our minds, lots of parents are wondering what to do about Halloween candy. In addition to our twice daily brushing, daily flossing, and drinking lots of water recommendations, we also recommend looking for some help from the Switch Witch! The Switch Witch, a very good friend of the Tooth Fairy, comes around in early November, a couple of days after Halloween. So let your kiddos enjoy some of their Halloween candy for 2-3 days. The night before the Switch Witch comes, have your kiddos put the rest of the Halloween Candy in a basket or bag by the front door. While everyone is snug and sleeping in bed, the Switch Witch can come to switch out the candy for something like a new pencil or a coloring page, or an activity like a coupon for extra snuggles, a visit to the park, or a family movie. 

Is this Switch Witch stopping at your house this year? Let us know by tagging us @irispediatricdentistry on instagram!