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This Halloween, your child will surely come into an inordinate amount of candy – all of which is packed with sugar and terrible for teeth. While sugar won’t lead to cavities overnight, it can do some serious damage in the long term. Here’s how you can help prevent cavities this Halloween.

Water, Water, Water!

Water can drastically improve your child’s overall health, and does a lot to promote a healthy mouth. But, did you know that saliva is 99% water, and is critical in the fight against cavities? This makes it imperative that your child drinks plenty of water this Halloween so that they can help keep their teeth clean. Water also helps prevent cavities by rinsing food debris away from in between teeth. By drinking enough water, you help prevent dry mouth and ensure that your child’s saliva is produced at an optimal rate. 

Avoid Sour Candy

Sour candy can leave teeth susceptible to cavities more so than any other candy. This is because sour candy contains a high amount of acid. In fact, the elevated acid content is what makes it so sour. The acidity can eat away the enamel of teeth, and leave them vulnerable to cavities. 

Try Xylitol Gum

Most chewing gum can’t claim to help clean teeth, but gum sweetened with xylitol can. That’s because xylitol helps stimulate saliva production, which naturally cleans teeth. The mouth fights cavities by producing saliva to wash away food debris, and restore its proper Ph balance. Xylitol naturally stimulates saliva that aids in overall oral health. Increased saliva can help prevent bad breath by eliminating dry mouth, and prevent prolonged exposure to acid and sugar caused by food debris.  

Try giving your child chewing gum sweetened with xylitol 15 minutes after a meal to improve their saliva production, and naturally clean their teeth. You can find xylitol gum is most health food stores, or online.

Limit Candy Consumption

Finally, the best way to prevent cavities this Halloween is by limiting your child’s candy consumption to only a few servings per day. Don’t let your child binge-eat their candy, as 3 pieces of candy can quickly turn into 10. If your child does have a few pieces of candy per day, be sure that they rinse their mouth out after eating their candy to avoid acid buildup on their teeth.

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It’s important that your children brush their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time if you want to keep cavities away. This is especially important when consuming foods that contain high amounts of sugar. So, as your child hauls in bag of candy this Halloween, be sure that they thoroughly brush and floss after eating candy to keep their enamel strong and their mouth healthy.