Hello to all of my friends from the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership!
Here we are again! I can’t believe it is already October and you know what that means! No, you don’t? Halloween means two things to me. First it is a sad time of year because my darling little babies are going to be under attack by the Dementors that harm teeth. These are things that you commonly get at Halloween – that’s right, a lot of candy and sweets! How does this happen?
Your mouth has Dementor bugs in it that thrive on Boggart sugars. These Dementor bugs are known as bacteria. These little bugs LOVE sugar from the candy and sweets and they produce an acid which dissolves my favorite little darlings, your teeth. This makes a cavity in your innocent tooth or teeth! Those poor little darlings, develop a hole and lose their bright, shiny white coating and turn brown. Your teeth don’t like to be that way because it means the tooth is not strong and is ill. If the cavity is not treated it can become severe and develop an infection and might need to be taken out. I never like to see a tooth taken out because it means I can’t fix it.
The second reason that I am not fond of Halloween, is because it is the night when the Werewolves, Merpeople, Mountain Trolls and Acromantula come out. These guys are scary – even Harry Potter didn’t hang with these guys and was battling them with Ron and Hermionie during their first year at Hogwarts! These are not like my fairies and our friends the gnomes, who are kind and gentle.
Protecting your Pearly Whites
So, what can you do to protect your pearly whites?
There are a couple of things. I must admit, once in a while, I like a treat too. My favorite candy is…. Take a guess? You guessed it, chocolate! Of all of the candy, a LITTLE chocolate is not bad for you or your teeth. Do you want to know why? Why you ask? Because most chocolate dissolves and doesn’t stick to your teeth. Other candy like caramels, tootsie rolls, jelly worms, taffies and hard candies do. This is because the sticky candies stay on your teeth longer allowing your pearly whites to be exposed to the Dementors and Boggarts.
So, if you want to know how to protect your little darlings, read on…
Here are a few things you can do. Many dentists’ offices buy back candy from your Halloween stash. Ask your dentist if she or he does this. You can buy something else that is really cool with the money! Another thing you can do is to give the candy to a shelter. Or if you really can’t part with the Dementors and Boggarts, then you should stay away from the sticky types of candy. After you have a piece of candy, you should rinse your mouth out with water or even better, brush your teeth if you can. Remember, you should always use a toothpaste with fluoride in it. If you remember, fluoride is like Harry Potter’s Petroneous!
Okay my little buddies, I have left you with some of my pearls of wisdom. Until the scary season of Halloween is over and we are in November I will say good bye for now! If you have any questions, don’t forget that you can call my buddies at the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership:
Dr. Tooth Fairy
855-CT-DENTAL Monday-Friday 8AM – 5PM
