Why this dentist hands out 3 things to kids at Halloween

Dr. Charles Reinertsen has been a dentist for more than 40 years and has seen not only plenty of children enjoying Halloween candy but many of those same kids returning to his office with cavities and tooth decay.

Dr. Charles Reinertsen.

To help prevent those problems, Dr. Reinertsen has come up with a way that he believes reaches children. Below, in his own words, he details those three things and why they are important.

What I have done in the past for Halloween is hand out three things:

1. A story
2. A toothbrush
3. Great candy

The story

Everybody has tiny little animals in their mouths called "sugar bugs" that like to stick to our teeth. These sugar bugs are really tiny, almost invisible, and very nasty! When we eat food, the sugar bugs eat the same food, and they especially like sugar!

When you and I eat food, we eventually will have to go to the bathroom. When sugar bugs eat food, they also go to the bathroom. They poop right on your teeth! We want to get these bugs off our teeth because if we don't when we're sleeping, they go to the bathroom all over our teeth.

The sugar bug poop is so nasty, it eats holes in your teeth. If you wake up in the morning and your mouth tastes bad, it's probably sugar bug poop. If you don't want holes in your teeth (cavities), you have to clean the sugar bugs off your teeth every day, or their poop will make holes (cavities) in your teeth.

Kids may not understand bacteria, but they understand poop and don't want poop in their mouths.

And it's all true! Bacteria (sugar bugs) stick to your teeth. We call this plaque. When the bacteria (sugar bugs) eat foods that we have in our mouths (sugary food is worse), they produce byproducts (poop).

One of the ingredients in the poop is lactic acid. It demineralizes the enamel on the teeth and causes cavities (holes) in the teeth. If we don't clean the sugar bugs, the cavities (holes) get bigger, and you either will need fillings or extractions. Most kids don't want fillings or extractions. Many times, but not always, there will also be a toothache. Children don't want pain either.

Once these sugar bugs get into your teeth or gums, they enter your bloodstream and travel through your body to your heart, brain, lungs … everywhere your blood goes. These sugar bugs can cause or worsen many diseases, including heart attacks, diabetes, and much more. So if we can remove them before they eat holes in our teeth and eventually enter the bloodstream, we have helped prevent many diseases.

A toothbrush

You can purchase them in bulk for a very reasonable price. Brightly colored ones are nice for Halloween.

Great candy

Giving away great candy increases your credibility. It increases the odds for them to take the story's message to heart.

After 40 years of dentistry, Dr. Charles Reinertsen founded the Dental Medical Convergence, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness that oral health impacts overall body health. Reinertsen started his dental career in 1979 after graduating from the University of Florida College of Dentistry. He opened his family dental practice in Tavares, FL, and served the dental needs of residents there for more than 40 years. He is a member of the American Academy of Oral Systemic Health.

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