National Orthodontic Health Month
October brings us National Orthodontic Health Month, one of three reasons to celebrate optimal oral health before welcoming in the cavity creeps on a holiday all dentists rejoice around – Halloween.
In addition to National Dental Hygiene month, October is also National Orthodontic Health Month.
This tenth month of our calendar presents dentists, patients, & parents a great education opportunity to promote orthodontics and oral hygiene.
Did You Know Crooked Teeth Are Bad for Our Dental Health?
It’s true for adults and children alike, and that’s not just some scary ghost story but don’t just take our word for it. According to WebMD, these are some of the most common health problems associated with crooked or misaligned teeth:
Crooked teeth and misaligned bites can:
– Interfere with proper chewing.
– Make keeping teeth clean more of a challenge, increasing the risk of tooth decay, cavities, and gingivitis.
– Strain the teeth, jaws, and muscles, increasing the risk of breaking a tooth.
– Make people feel self-conscious about their appearance and affect their self-esteem.
Halloween Candy to Avoid If You Have Braces
Diligent dental health maintenance is even more important during the Halloween season when our teeth (or our children’s teeth) may receive more than their fair share of exposure to sticky candies, sugary sweets, & chewy chocolate treats.
Things become even more difficult if we factor traditional metal braces into the picture.
For those of you with braces, try to avoid the following candy or risk doing your dental health a disservice:
– Caramel (and whole candy apples)
– Taffy (or any chewy candies)
– Bubblegum
– Fruit roll-ups
– Gummy Bears, Gummy Fish, Gummy Worms…or anything ‘gummy’
– Hard candies
– Any candy containing nuts (and peanut brittle)
If you can’t keep yourself away from the sugary sweets of Halloween time, go for the softer candy choices like peanut butter cups or other melt-in-your-mouth treats…but not the nut kind!
Anyone know what candy choices we could possibly be referencing?
It’s a given that we’re going to scarf down some candy during October, but it’s important not to forget about National Dental Hygiene Month and National Orthodontic Health Month while we’re shoveling the sweet sugary treats down our gullet.
Happy National Orthodontic Health Month!
Happy National Dental Hygiene Month!!
And…HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Image Credits:
Halloween Candy Teeth BracesOrthodontic Health Month Poster
