Find a Dentist This Fall and Learn How to Avoid Sugar This Halloween

If you want to find a dentist that thinks outside of the box – you have.  Our goal is to help our patients to stay in excellent oral health and we understand that in order to do so we have to help our clients to make healthy choices when they are away from our office as well.  Knowing that Halloween is almost here, our staff put their heads together to come up with ways for Halloween to be both healthy and fun.

Most people think of Halloween and trick-or-treating comes to mind. While this is perhaps the most common symbol of the holiday, it doesn’t have to be what you do.  You and your family can have just as much fun without filling up a bag full of candy.  Try these spooktacular ideas for having fun without the sugar.

• Go bowling.  Who says you have to go trick-or-treating? Get the kids dressed up and go bowling instead.  You can do any fun activity in costume, and the kids will think it’s hilarious to get dressed up when no one else is.  Find a dentist and bring a picture so we can talk to the kids about it while examining their teeth.
• Eat a large and healthy dinner.  If you are going to a party or trick-or-treating, eat a large dinner before you go.  This way you will feel full before you arrive and won’t be tempted to run to the snack table.  When you eat a dinner that contains both lean protein and complex carbs, you and your kids will have sustained energy throughout the night which will prevent you and them from crashing as you’re walking around. 
• Drink lots of water.  By drinking water and staying hydrated, you will improve your overall health, and you will be less tempted to eat too many snacks or sugary treats. We suggest that you drink a glass of water before every meal and before eating dessert.  This will help you to feel full and lose interest in the cake table.  
• Play games.  Instead of going out trick-or-treating, get dressed up with your kids in costume and go out to play games.  You can still walk around with the neighbors but instead of collecting candy, collect something else.  You could set up a scavenger hunt for your kids where one clue leads to another and eventually ends with a prize.  You can also play a game where you have to find certain costumes and the first person that does, wins.  Halloween is a great time to play games because you can be extremely creative in what you decide to do. 
• Make a haunted house.  Decorate your home to become a mini haunted house.  Get your kids involved ahead of time and let them participate that night.  They will probably have more fun scaring their friends than they would have trick-or-treating.  As an added bonus, you get to keep them from getting a bag full of candy without looking like the bad guy.  

When you find a dentist, we want you and your kids to stay healthy and cavity free.  Have fun this Halloween and schedule a teeth cleaning afterwards so that you and your family can go into the holiday season in perfect oral health.