With Halloween approaching, you might feel great excitement with the joy of festivities and candy. However, you might be concerned about your child’s trick-or-treat activities due to braces. Don’t worry; we’re here to help you navigate the fine line between restricted sweets and allowed delights for the season.
In this useful guide, we’ll discover the dos and don’ts of adopting braces for a spooktacular Halloween. With a little care for braces, your child won’t have to worry about damaged brackets, broken wires, or emergency dental visits!
Managing Halloween with braces
Halloween is a fun time for kids as they enjoy sweet treats, wear amazing costumes, and engage in fun activities. But if your child is among those who have braces installed, surviving Halloween without indulging in sticky or chewy candies can be quite the challenge.
- One of the many challenges with braces during Halloween is to avoid getting food or candy stuck in wires or brackets. Candies like caramel or chewy candies need to be avoided at all costs as they stick like glue to braces. Instead, you can choose better alternatives like marshmallow-based candies or chocolate, which are less damaging.
- Another issue with enjoying favorite Halloween treats such as corn on the cob or popcorn is that they are risky since they can bend wires or break braces brackets if not eaten with caution. Therefore, it’s recommended to avoid them completely or cut these snacks into small bite-shaped pieces for better enjoyment.
- Wearing traditional braces also means that you need to attain ideal oral hygiene, as it's critical during Halloween festivities when the sugar intake is high. The extra sweet consumption makes cleaning around wires and brackets difficult, which promotes the spread of bacteria that causes cavities.
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Guidelines for maintaining braces during Halloween
During the Halloween festival, you need to pay close attention to maintaining oral hygiene, which is crucial for children having braces. A lot of effort is needed to maintain hygiene to prevent tooth loss, gum diseases, and cavities.
Managing oral health for kids
Attaining poor oral health and misaligned teeth makes it easy to develop cavities or gum diseases and becomes a never-ending issue over time. With the help of braces, some of these issues are greatly reduced, but it is crucial to follow your dentist’s recommendations regarding braces care, such as:
- Removing all removable parts and elastics before carrying out brushing
- Cleaning braces with a toothbrush around the pins and wires to remove leftover debris or plague
- Brushing your teeth around the gum line in circular motions
- Flossing at least daily to remove leftover food particles and plaque from teeth
- Regularly rinsing your mouth with mouthwash
- Maintain regular dentist consultations and visits for braces maintenance and check-ups
Managing kids with braces on Halloween
Securing braces during Halloween is essential, especially in the case of children suffering from mild to severe teeth malocclusion. If you have children under 12 years old, they will have most of their baby teeth. As children’s primary teeth fall out, you need to prevent the chances of tooth cavities, as baby teeth can become targeted, causing swelling and pain. As a result of gum infections, children’s development and growth of permanent teeth can be hindered, leading to various orthodontic issues.
On the other hand, after attaining braces, your child might not be able to enjoy the sweets and candies that they want. Many food products that we all like to eat, like sticky, hard, or chewy food, often involve excessive chewing. This can damage braces, brackets, and wires as food particles get stuck inside teeth molars.
The Halloween season is a very tough time because many children want to enjoy chewy sweets and candies, and restricting them might make them depressed or jealous of other children.
Candies to avoid with braces for Halloween
Certain Halloween treats need to be avoided for braces. These include the chewy type of candy that people love to give children for trick-or-treating. They tend to attach to wires, bands, and brackets and even pull braces off.
Crunchy or hard-to-chew candies are not any better. These candies put pressure on children’s braces, which might damage them. Every band or bracket has to be repaired or replaced, which can be costly. Ensure your children keep away from treats such as:
- Sticky-type candy (caramel or taffy)
- Candy apples
- Gummy candy
- Popcorn
- Nut-based candies
- Jelly beans
- Taffy
- Bubble gum
- Hard pretzels
- Nougat
- Fruit chews
- Tootsie rolls
- Jawbreakers
- Sour candies
- Nutty or caramel chocolate
- Toffee
The above might seem like a long list of candies and sweets to avoid on Halloween, but children having braces need to be wise and restrain themselves from eating any kind of candy. There are various healthy candy options out there to chow down and enjoy.
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Enjoy Halloween with braces
You don’t need to restrict your child with braces from enjoying the festive season of Halloween. It provides your children with an amazing way to dress up and connect with other children while providing them with free treats. Just ensure that your children eat smart and maintain regular oral hygiene. Just follow the mentioned recommendation and enjoy your Halloween festivities.
Find out more about braces by giving us a call at +44 20 3872 2812.
FAQ
Can children with braces eat chocolates on Halloween?
Yes, but only chocolate candies or bars without nuts or caramel ingredients.
Can children with braces eat chewy or sour candies on Halloween?
No, chewy or sour candies can damage your child’s brackets and wires and might require replacement for proper teeth alignment.
