Love Your Teeth This Valentine's Day

On Valentine’s Day, showing our love and appreciation for someone often is communicated with a heart-shaped box of scrumptious chocolate candy treats. Unbelievably, Americans buy more than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates each year. Here are some other statistics about Valentine’s sweets:

• Americans spend $345 million for Valentine’s candy each year
• Approximately 58 million pounds of chocolate are consumed around Valentine’s Day
• The average American consumes between 10 and 12 pounds of chocolate each year; more than 60 percent of all chocolates in America are enjoyed by women
• About 8 billion candy hearts are sold between Feb. 1 and Feb. 14

While most of us are aware that consuming large amounts of candy during this holiday can contribute to a larger waistline, we may not think about how sweets impact our oral health.

Impact of Sweets on Your Teeth

Each time bacteria come into contact with sugar in your mouth, acid is produced, which attacks your teeth for at least 20 minutes. And the bacteria that cause cavities thrive in sweets and sodas. Cavities are caused by tooth decay that destroys the tooth structures and can affect both the enamel and the inner layer of the tooth.

Sweets That are Tough on Your Teeth

Some foods and candies create more problems for your teeth than others, including those that are sticky, dissolve slowly or are sucked, such as lollipops, hard candies, toffee, gum drops, taffy, caramel corn, peanut brittle, dried fruit, chocolate-covered raisins and high-energy sports bars.

Keep Your Teeth Healthy

To maintain good oral health, brush your teeth at least twice a day, use floss daily, eat nutritious foods, limit snacks, including candy, pretzels, and chips, and visit Dr. Steppler regularly for cleanings and exams.

Enjoy Halloween Candy But Protect Teeth

Who doesn’t love Halloween candy?  The anticipation of what kind of candy you are going to get in your trick-or-treat bag awaits all little kids and some big kids too!  Children can still enjoy their Halloween candy and protect their teeth.  You can protect your children’s teeth by limiting the amount of candy they eat.   It is also important to not let the sugar stay in the mouth for a long amount of time.

After eating candy of any kind, your child should brush their teeth immediately.  They can help keep harmful bacteria from developing in their mouth by brushing their teeth as soon as possible after eating candy.  Also, if the candy is eaten quickly in one sitting it can lessen the amount of time it has contact with the teeth.

Other things that parents can do to protect their children’s teeth are:

• Examine their children’s candy for anything unacceptable and remove it before their children eat the candy.
• Remove any candy that is tacky or gummy because it can stick to teeth and cause tooth decay.
• Make sure your child always has good dental hygiene whether they eat candy during the day or night.
• Dentists can put sealants into children’s teeth grooves to protect the teeth against corrosion caused by too much sugar.  It might be a good idea to have sealants put on your children’s teeth before Halloween.

If you would like more information on preventing tooth decay call our office or visit our website.