Pediatric Dentistry of Redlands

With Halloween right around the corner, it may be leaving you feeling frustrated or concerned about how much candy your children are about ready to get and consume. But how much is too much? Is a little okay or should there be a no candy rule at all to keep their smile healthy. Here are 4 suggestions from Dr. Fuller when it comes to Halloween candy and your children’s teeth. 1.      Have them consume minimal amounts of candy. If they have mini candy bars, 1 to 3 pieces would be plenty depending on the candy would also depend on the amount of sugar and calories they are consuming. 2.      If they do consume candy have them drink water and then brush their teeth soon after. This can remove the sugar from the surface of their teeth to decrease the risk of decay. 3.      Avoid having them eat the candy during times when they are going to be running around outside or they are going to be away from water. The more dehydr...

Acid on the enamel of the teeth causes problems for your smile. The longer the sugar is attached to the teeth, the more opportunity the bacteria have to cause cavities. Dr. Fuller recommends decreasing the amount of candy your children consume overall in order to prevent cavities.   Once a cavity has occurred, if it is not taken care of, it can cause long-term damage and perhaps even need a root canal in order to fix.   Carmel, and other candy that is sticky, creates even more of a problem. The longer that sugar sticks to the teeth, the more opportunity sugar has to cause decay. While all candy can be bad for the teeth, sticky candy is even worse because it is difficult to remove from the teeth with drinking water or saliva. Once decay has set in, it can cause problems for your child’s body as well as their teeth.   It is not just the amount of sugar that is consumed that causes a problem, but the amount of time that candy is allowed to ...

Now that Halloween is over and the candy has entered the cupboards in your house. You may find the little fingers of your children eating handfuls of the stuff. You may be finding candy wrappers in their beds, in the pockets of their clothes and the remnants of the stuff on their lips. These weeks can be stressful trying to balance out letting them have a few pieces and arguing over why they can’t just have one more piece before bedtime. Dr. Cameron Fuller recommends these three tips to help.   1.      Put the candy in a container that has a seal on it and put it up higher in the cupboard or on top of the cupboard where it is out of sight. Children who do not see the candy are less likely to be asking for some.   When you do decide that they can have a piece of two, you may want to consider having them not watch where you take the bag from. Having it put away can also limit the pieces that are taken when everyone is walking in...

Delta Dental reports, “Close to 9 billion dollars was spent on Halloween candy. It flooded the isles of the stores weeks prior and is left the shelves to end up in your home on the shelf.” Children consume over 100 pieces of candy in the first few weeks after Halloween. While candy in moderation isn’t necessarily the problem, candy does have an impact on children’s teeth. Candy has both short and long-term impact on children’s teeth and the health of their bodies, and not all candy is created equal. While sticky treats tend to stay on the teeth longer, this increases the opportunity for decay and plaque to attack the enamel and cause cavities.   The longer that candy is on the surface of the teeth, the greater the impact. Dr. Cameron Fuller suggests, "ff your children do consume a food that is sticky or any high sugar foods, it is important that they brush right away to remove debris from the surface of the teeth." This lessens the opportunity f...

While it may be difficult at first for your children to understand, there are alternatives to trick or treating that can keep your children’s teeth healthy and free of decay. Here are five activities that are fun for the family instead of trick or treating.   Watch a movie. Spend a few minutes preparing for a fun at home movie night. Comfortable seating, healthy snacks, popcorn and some drinks. Now you are ready to enjoy a movie night. Don’t put your front lights on & you will let your neighbors know that you are not available to give out candy this year and your family movie night will remain a quiet, fun night at home. Pediatric dentist, Dr. Cameron Fuller suggests, “Go bowling or hit up a healthy restaurant.” It can be fun to spend time with family. Relax with your kids inside a location that is not promoting or giving candy away. Your children will enjoy the quality time with you and the fun instead of what candy they didn’t get. Play ...

Halloween is right around the corner & last post we discussed the three worst Halloween candies for kid’s teeth. This post we are going to focus on the best candy for their teeth. Here are four of the best treats for children, if they are going to participate in trick or treating. Lollipops are a great way to increase saliva production. The more saliva that is produced the better chance your child has of warding off cavities. Saliva will rinse food from the surface of the teeth. Hard candies are also good for increasing saliva and helping to reduce the risk of cavities. “After candy is consumed it is important to have your child brush their teeth in order to remove any leftover sugar from the teeth,” says Pediatric dentist Dr. Cameron Fuller . Sugar-free gum helps to remove food particles from the teeth as well as increasing saliva. Dr. Fuller suggests, “While sugar free gum may not be a common Halloween candy, you can replace each piece of candy off of ...

High carb foods, soda, and candy are available at every turn for our children.How do we stop it? Halloween is right around the corner and as parents we may be very aware that the candy battle is about to become a fight on our front door, and all of that dental work paid for is about to be put to the test. There is a better way though. Here are five tips & tricks to decrease candy and increase oral health. 1.      Trade in their candy for extra time with you. Spending time with parents is the ideal for our little ones. If you have a teenager, spend time doing something they love to do to encourage them to make positive candy choices. For each piece of candy they are willing to give you, spend ten minutes doing something fun with them. Play video games, go for a walk, or just sit and listen to them. 2.      Hit the houses with the teal pumpkins. This year, individuals are putting out a different color pumpkin. The teal allow...

Fourth of July is an honorable holiday where you can enjoy friends and family, backyard barbecues and fireworks. It can also be a day of junk food, soda and sugar. But here are a few foods your little ones should avoid this holiday in order to keep their teeth in healthy shape. 1.      Sticky foods,. Sticky things, like candy, tends to attach to fillings and other dental work. Bacteria are already in the mouth and its power is enhanced when sugar is added to the mix. Sticky foods stay on the surface of the teeth longer and are harder to remove from the surface of teeth.   Saliva is not usually enough to remove the substances from your child’s teeth. "The longer food is on the teeth, the more opportunity bacteria have to damage their teeth," Dr. Cameron Fuller . Sticky foods include crackers. 2.      Acidic foods. Foods high in acid eat at the enamel of teeth. Enamel is the hard outer substance that protects the teeth. Acid ca...

While the tradition of your child dressing up on Halloween night can be fun and a great memory, the candy they eat can create long lasting damage.   " In order to protect your child from tooth decay you should limit the amount of sugar they eat and how long it stays on their teeth," suggests pediatric dentist Dr. Cameron Fuller . Bacteria turns into acid and the acid then attacks tooth enamel on the teeth.   Soon after candy is consumed provide an opportunity to brush and floss in order to wash away the substances stuck on their teeth. While millions of children run around the neighborhood gathering as much candy as they can, you as the parent can help develop healthy habits by having them brush and floss right after they consume any candy. "You can also limit the amount of overall sugar they eat on Halloween night and each day after," Dr. Fuller. Certain types of candy are worse for teeth than others. For example, avoid ...

Billions of children will dress up this Halloween and participate in running around the neighborhoods gathering as much candy as can fill their bags. The next day you might find your little ones breaking into that candy stash early in the morning. On average, 2.08 billion dollars will be spent on candy, while the average kid consumes over seven thousand calories on this special day and three cups of sugar. "This excessive amount of sugar consumed can lead to unhealthy habits later on," says Dr. Cameron Fuller.   How can you trade your child’s treat-or-treat habits into something more positive? Some families have their children trade in their treats for something else. For example, a toy at the store they have been wanting or a trip to a local favorite restaurant for a healthy food alternative.   Take your child to less houses. You can hit the few on your block and stick to a small radius.  Provide a smaller bag or container for your chi...

Sealants are a thin plastic covering that helps protect the grooves of your child’s teeth. You may wonder why the pediatric dentist is recommending putting sealants on your child’s baby teeth, especially because they are going to fall out any way. Sealants are important because these baby teeth hold the place for the permanent teeth. Therefore, you do not want their teeth to fall out sooner than expected or to be extracted due to extensive decay.   Sealants should be placed on molars and premolars due to the fact that there are deep grooves in these teeth, called “fissures.” The grooves on the teeth can trap food and be difficult for your children to remove all of the food from the surface. The longer that food stays on the teeth the higher risk your child has of decay.   While the molars and premolars are recommended, your dentist may also recommend placing sealants on the chewing surfaces of other teeth.   There is no time like the presen...