Don’t Let Jack (O Lantern) Show You Up

We hope you had a safe and fun Halloween. For some members of our Cedar Creek Team, there are memories of trick-or-treating to our local dentist and receiving an impressive sized drop into the candy bag. After rushing home and sorting your goods, you discover the hefty thud from your dentist was a box with toothpaste, a toothbrush, and those scary red tablets that stained your sugar soaked smilers.

No matter what year we’re talking about, Halloween is sure to satisfy every level of sweet tooth. Whether you are a sticky fruity candy freak, or a die-hard chocolate lover, there is usually enough for everyone, and then some! We here are Cedar Creek Dental know that candy makes it into the mouths of our little and big people alike, so we thought we would have Dr. Quinn Mikesell share some post-Halloween hygiene tips.

• If it’s sticky and sweet, the swifter the sweep! This just means that the more sticky, fruity, and all-out-chewy a candy is, the quicker we want it off our teeth. This type of candy sort of acts like a glue, and if pockets of this sweet goo are left on your teeth, the quicker your teeth will decay. So just plan on getting a mid-day brush and floss in to keep the cavities at bay.
• If it’s chocolate and smooth, you can delay your move. Now before you start eating chocolate in place of meals, just keep this advice in context with the other sugary treats. The fat and oils in chocolate tend to melt, instead of stick. While you still need to brush and floss before going to bed, taking a break right after your snack attack isn’t as crucial – unless you have gingivitis or gum disease.

We recently invited a common Halloween buddy to visit our dental office. Mister Jack-O-Lantern helped showcase that Halloween and Dentists could be best friends again. If anything, it proved that by sticking his hands in mouths every day, Dr. Mikesell now has some impressive fine motor skills that translate well to pumpkin carving. Just imagine what he could do to your plaque-ridden teeth!