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Halloween is one of America’s favorite traditions, and gives us an incredible opportunity to get outside and celebrate our community with friends and neighbors alike. But, did you know that we haven’t always passed out candy during Halloween? In fact, Halloween isn’t even an American holiday.  

European Tradition

Halloween used to be known as The Festival of Samhain, which celebrated the harvest and the Celtic New Year. The Festival of Samhain originated in England and Scotland, and later grew more popular across Europe.  

Trick-or-treating evolved from an old tradition called “going a-souling,” which occurred when children celebrating the Festival of Samhain solicited food and treats from door to door. Kids would knock on a neighbor’s door and offer to pray for the souls of their relatives in exchange for gifts. The children would be handed food, coins, ale and other trinkets in exchange for their kind thoughts. This tradition eventually made its way to America in the early 1900s, when the United States welcomed a large influx of European immigrants.  

Parental Concern

Trick-or-treating gained popularity in the 1930s and 40s, but as Halloween became more popular, parents felt unsafe allowing their children to accept unwrapped food from strangers. At the time, some of the most popular treats were cookies, cakes, fruit, popcorn balls and muffins. Parents argued that the treats could be tampered with and potentially harm their children. Combine this risk with how expensive and time consuming it is to make treats from scratch, and Halloween had a real problem: a lot of people wanted to celebrate, but could not do so without steady, reliable supply that parents could trust.  

Sweet, Packaged Confection

During the 1950s, Halloween boomed in popularity across the USA. However, parents were still concerned about the treats their children were receiving. Candy producers saw this as a golden opportunity to alleviate parent’s concerns by providing reliable, enjoyable treats. Candy producers created large advertising campaigns promoting the safety of prepackaged candy. They argued that it was safer for children to eat packaged candy, because it couldn’t be altered without visible marks on the wrapper. Suddenly, it became much cheaper to buy candy and hand it out instead of spending hours creating your own treats. 

Sugar Harms Teeth 

Candy is packed with sugar, which fuels unhealthy bacteria that eats away tooth enamel and leads to cavities. Be sure that your child doesn’t eat too much candy, and that they brush and floss their teeth after eating candy. We hope that your family has a happy and safe Halloween this year! 

Teeth are meant for chewing and processing food, yet children can find some interesting ways to use their teeth outside of eating. The problem is that teeth can crack or fracture when used improperly, which can lead to tooth loss. Here’s 3 of the grossest – and riskiest – ways children use their teeth.

Holding and Cutting Non-Food Items

When teeth hold or cut things other than food, they are exposed to harder surfaces that aren’t found in food. Additionally, the pressure needed to cut some of these objects is far greater than the amount needed to chew. This puts unnecessary stress on teeth, and can cause them to crack or fracture, which results in a painful dental emergency that needs to be treated by a dental professional. Holding items in teeth is particularly dangerous, because one can easily trip and fall and sustain serious oral and facial injuries. 

Warn your child not to use their teeth as an extra set of hands, and explain to them the potential harms of using their teeth as scissors.

Opening Bottles 

Believe it or not, it’s still trendy among some teenagers (and a few adults) to open glass bottles with their teeth. Bottles should never be opened with teeth. This is one of the worst, most traumatic things someone could do to their own teeth, and will likely result in a cracked tooth. Furthermore, metal bottle caps can scrape enamel away from teeth, and leave them more susceptible to cavities. If your child must have a drink from a glass bottle, just go ahead and open it for them. 

But, this isn’t just a rule for glass bottles – teeth should not be used to open plastic bottles with twist tops, either.

Cracking Nuts 

Using your teeth to crack nuts is a bad idea. Trying to crack open a nut with teeth often leaves teeth fractured or cracked, rather than the nut. Tell your kids to stay away from nuts that have the shells on them, or teach them how to use a metal nutcracker. Most nuts come pre-shelled, and don’t contain the hard-outer coating that needs to be cracked off. But, there are plenty of people that fracture their teeth each year from trying to crack a nut.

Teeth are Meant for Chewing 

Did you know that cracked and fractured teeth are the third leading cause of tooth loss? It’s incredibly risky to use teeth as tools, and can lead to an emergency trip to the dentist. Teach your child that the only things they should use their teeth for are chewing, and smiling, and stress to them that teeth are not tools.

As a parent, you can help your child achieve a healthy smile in many different ways. One way you can greatly help is by packing a lunch that improves their oral health. 

Avoid Sugary Drinks – Even “Healthy” Drinks 

Allowing children to sip on sugary beverages over long periods of time increases their exposure to sugar, and acid attacks that can erode their enamel. Try to limit or remove sports drinks, sodas, and high-sugar juices from their diets to aid in their oral health. Sugary beverages are one of the leading sources of sugar for children, and some can even be disguised as “healthy drinks” like nutritional water or sports drinks.

Pack Water 

Water helps rid teeth of damaging acids and food debris, and help keeps saliva flowing – which naturally keeps teeth clean. Water is the healthiest beverage for teeth, and we suggest packing it instead of any other drink in your child’s lunch. 

Also, don’t fall for nutritional waters. Most of these “enhanced” water products have an excessive amount of sugar, and aren’t great for teeth or overall health. 

Stay Away From Food Marketed as “Healthy” 

Granola cereal, dried fruit and trail mix can seem like healthier options, but they’re often packed with extras that aren’t healthy at all. In fact, dried fruit sticks to teeth and fuels bad bacteria that cause cavities, and granola can be packed with extra sugar and fat. If you’re buying granola or health cereal, stay away from those that have marshmallows, chocolate pieces, and even candy. Look for a higher fiber content, and granola that contains more natural ingredients like nuts and rolled oats.

Add More Whole foods 

When packing your child’s lunch, add in natural, whole vegetables and fruits whenever you can. Instead of packing starchy chips, try to add small pieces of celery with a healthy dip, or baby carrots. Instead of packing an imitation fruit snack as dessert, try packing fresh, fibrous fruit like strawberries, kiwi or apples. By replacing sweets and starches with fibrous fruits and vegetables, you can help your child avoid unnecessary sugar, and help them keep their teeth clean while they’re away from home. Fiber naturally cleans teeth by scrubbing away food particles leftover from a meal.  

Substitute Nuts for Chips 

Crackers, potato chips and other starchy foods can get stuck in the small areas of tooth surfaces.  Without proper brushing, these foods provide sugar to bacteria that feed on it, which ultimately leads to tooth decay. Instead of chips, pack nuts instead, which are full of fiber and healthy protein. 

Dietary Choices Affect Teeth

The food your child eats affects their teeth, and influences their overall oral health. Visit our office for more information about mouth-healthy diets, and how food can impact teeth.  

Did you know that baby teeth can affect incoming adult teeth? More than just chewing and smiling, baby teeth can actually impact the health and well being of incoming adult teeth. Here’s why healthy baby teeth matter for an adult smile.  

Healthy Baby Teeth Keep Kids in School

Your child’s oral health is directly related to their academic performance. On average, children miss just over two days of school every year due to oral ailments. Lost school hours are closely linked to poor academic performance, and can cause your child’s grades to suffer. Additionally, tooth decay is painful and distracting, and can cause your child to lose focus in school or even prevent them from participating in the class discussion.  

Luckily, cavities are nearly 100% preventable. You can help your child prevent cavities by getting them into a healthy oral care routine where they brush twice per day for 2 minutes at a time, and floss once per day.  

Untreated Baby Tooth Decay can Get effect Adult Teeth

If tooth decay goes untreated, then it can worsen into a tooth abscess – which is a tooth infection that spreads to the root of the tooth. If a primary tooth, know as a baby tooth, abscesses and becomes infected, then the infection can spread to the incoming adult tooth. This can cause early tooth decay in developing adult teeth, and lead to pain and potential tooth loss. 

Baby Teeth Inform Adult Smile Alignment

Baby teeth are temporary, however, if a baby tooth is knocked out too soon, it can lead to other teeth crowding the vacant spot. This can cause alignment issues when the permanent tooth begins to emerge, and could cause crooked teeth and biting problems. If your child has a misaligned smile, or biting problems, then the issues will need to be corrected with oral appliances later down the road – and that can cost a lot of money. Furthermore, crooked adult teeth (or malocclusion) are more difficult to clean, and more susceptible to retaining food particles that can lead to cavities.  

Schedule a Dental Checkup with us Every Six Months

Dental checkups are important for dentists to prevent cavities and other oral health issues, and also give parents the opportunity to learn more about healthy oral practices that they can use at home.