The Most Common Candy-Related Dental Issues During Halloween Season

ISLAMABAD, OCT 23 (ONLINE): Sure, Halloween is about dressing up in costumes and embracing all things scary, but for a lot of kids (and adults), the holiday is really all about the candy.
As good as a bag full of treats can taste, they often come with a cost — dental issues.
In fact, one report by Shiny Smiles Veneers showed that 35% of Americans have suffered from candy-related dental issues.
“I think it’s important to make good choices when it comes to what we eat and a candy treat from time to time is ok, however, daily, and frequent consumption of candy will eventually have negative consequences to our teeth, requiring dental treatment,” Kristin Lenz Galbreath, DMD, owner of Union Grove Family Dental in Wisconsin, told Healthline.
6 candy-related dental issues to keep in mind this Halloween
The report identified the following as the most common dental issues caused by candy.

Teeth sensitivity
Bacteria in the mouth can metabolize simple carbohydrates (sugar), and in turn, lower the overall pH in your mouth, creating an acidic environment, said Amy Sliwa Lies, DDS, owner of FiveSix Family Dental in Illinois.
“An acidic environment can erode the enamel on your teeth, making them more sensitive and more susceptible to decay,” she told Healthline.
Also, even when sugar is not metabolized, it can cause sensitivity on areas without enamel.
“The way your teeth ‘feel’ is through tiny little tubules in the dentin layer of the tooth. These tubules have fluid in them. The fluid expands and contracts in response to hot, cold, sweets, etcetera, and this is interpreted by the nerve of the tooth, contained, along with tiny blood vessels, in the pulp of the tooth,” said Lies.
People with gum recession are commonly sensitive to sugar, added Lenz Galbreath.
“Additionally, a common complaint for a tooth that already has a cavity is sensitivity to sweets,” she said.

Tooth pain
If candy causes damage to the teeth, fillings, or crowns, this can cause pain.
“Biting into a tooth and cracking it can be very painful. A cracked tooth that is cracked into the nerve or root of the tooth is extremely painful,” said Lenz Galbreath.

Damaged fillings and crowns
If candy is sticky, it can pull out a piece of filling or pull off a crown, and if it is very hard, it can break a filling or a tooth, said Lies.
“After repeated exposure to candy and the oral bacteria digesting the sugar into acid and eroding the enamel, tooth decay can form. While it doesn’t directly harm the filling material this way, the decay can form at the margin of the filling or crown (the edge where tooth meets filling/crown),” she said.

Chipped or cracked tooth
Lenz Galbreath often sees patients months after they have broken a tooth.
“A patient will know they cracked or chipped a tooth when eating but it doesn’t hurt, so the patient does not see the dentist right away,” she said. “However, a few months later it will start hurting because a cavity has developed on the tooth or there is a nerve exposure.”
This is problematic because a cracked or chipped tooth has lost its outer layer, the enamel, and the cavity progresses at a faster rate, increasing the likelihood for more treatment, such as a root canal or crown, Lenz Galbreath explained.

Jaw discomfort
Chewing hard or sticky candies puts added stress and work on the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), which are the two joints that connect the lower jaw to the skull.
“Repeated candy chewing will lead to pain and inflammation to the TMJ and muscles,” said Lenz Galbreath.
Hyperextending or opening the jaw wide to eat large candy can also cause discomfort.

Gum infection
While the report did not mention gum infection, Lies said the most common candy-related issue she sees is little pieces of candy getting caught under the gums and not being removed by floss.
“Sometimes it will stay wedged under the gums, usually between teeth, and then can create a periodontal abscess (localized infection in the gums),” she said.