I love Thanksgiving. Halloween is great and all, and I love all of the decorations put up for the winter holidays, but Thanksgiving is where it’s at for me. My house is covered in pumpkins and I even have cornucopias filled with gourds and corn husks from the farmer’s market. I get excited gathering whatever leaves have fallen off of LA’s trees and I love the smell of apple and pumpkin cider in my house when it hits below 80 degrees here. I’m kind of Hallmark-y in that sense.

However, as a pediatric dentist and mother of two kids, the sight of pumpkin displays at Trader Joe’s let me know it’s time to go into holiday oral health over-drive. Most parents think it’s Halloween that’s the cavity culprit but truthfully Halloween is just the beginning. We get almost a month off and then it’s Holiday Treats time all over again. The parents I meet almost always complain and are concerned about the difficulty of maintaining a good routine during the holiday season. One night isn’t a big deal but Thanksgiving weekend turns into the Holiday season and it’s important to start the holiday season on the right foot (or the “right tooth” in this case... yes, I went there).

My biggest tip to parents of my patients for maintaining their children’s oral health during the holiday season is to keep your “dental tool kit” handy. What do I mean by that? I always carry a little bag with 2 toothbrushes, flossers, mouth wipes (yes, the ones we used when our kids had one tooth) in my purse, the kids’ travel backpack, and in the car too. Let’s face it: most kids end up falling asleep in the car on the way home or on the couch in the living room (thank you, turkey) with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie stuck on their teeth.

Moreover, at my house, flossers and tooth wipes are conveniently situated throughout the house: in the kitchen for after meals, in the powder room (never met a guest who didn’t appreciate the opportunity to floss out turkey meat), and in the kids’ bathrooms (on the counter and not hidden in drawers.) When we get in the car after a party, before they fall asleep, I hand them their flossers and wipes before I start the car. When they were much younger, I would wipe the teeth down as soon as I strapped them in the car seat. (Side note- I prefer the refillable flossers so we don’t have to use plastic and they are so easy to carry in your travel bag or purse).

I would like to make one thing clear: I am never one to say avoid all sugar and starchy snacks because for many kids and parents that just isn’t possible. However, there are certain foods that require a little more “after-care” than others and many of those foods we eat on Thanksgiving.

Let’s go through dinner, shall we?

Salad with Dried Cranberries and goat cheese: Yay, Vitamin C and calcium but dried
cranberries are always loaded with so much sugar. Enter floss- it’s super important to floss
your children’s’ teeth and have them rinse with water after dried fruit.
Yams: Yams are super high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. However, can we please not candy
them? Why the marshmallows? Ok, fine, because it tastes good. However, candied yams are so sticky! If using the marshmallows, remember to sing my favorite kids’ nighttime Thanksgiving song: “If you’re thankful and you know it, floss your teeth... If you’re thankful and you know it, floss your teeth. If you’re thankful and you know it, then your teeth will surely show it, if you’re thankful and you know it floss your teeth!” (next verse is “brush your teeth,” and if your kids are old enough to be sick of this song and know have mastered the aim and spit technique after mouthwash, then skip the song. I speak from personal experience).
Cranberry Sauce: Again, cranberries are super high in Vitamin C- woo hoo! However, so much sugar and often orange juice is added to make good cranberry sauce. Confession time- I used monk fruit last year for my cranberry sauce and nobody liked it. Everybody ate my sister’s real cranberry sauce instead. So, if you are going to keep it real, remember that cranberry sauce is super acidic and high in sugar. Before your little one falls asleep, make sure to brush the teeth with a mineral based toothpaste or at least wipe the teeth down with a cold wash cloth or xylitol-coated tooth wipe.
Mac and Cheese: Again, yay Calcium and, woo hoo there is no added sugar! Not so fast. If you’re using Bean or Artichoke pasta then yes, it’s low in sugar (Another Confession: I tried that too and no, it’s not the same and won’t make you popular at your Thanksgiving table). If you’re using white flour pasta and making it really good, then please make sure the kids wash down that pasta with water and floss floss floss.
Mashed potatoes: So good and a high source of Vitamin B! However, remember cavity causing bacteria love potatoes as much as they love pasta!
Turkey: it’s high in protein, supposedly makes the kids go to sleep faster, but it gets stuck in between your teeth (remember the powder room is a great place to floss!).
Pumpkin Pie: Go pumpkin! It has vitamin A and is so good for your teeth and gums. However, traditional pumpkin pie is super high in sugar so make sure your child has water after the meal and you floss and brush.

Besides the actual Thanksgiving, whether you’re at home or traveling, as possible, here are some oral health holiday tips:

Every morning makes sure your children’s teeth are flossed, brushed, and if they can spit, mouthwash is used. The flossing helps get food out from in between the teeth, the toothpaste helps clean the teeth and mineralize the teeth, and the mouthwash is an extra layer of mineral protection.
Replace sticky snacks with fresh fruits and vegetables and fun protein snacks. Leading up to Thanksgiving at my house, the kids love making the following snacks for day trips and when at home:
- Apple, Pear and Persimmon Turkeys (the fruit are the feathers, the body party is made of peanut butter or almond butter, pumpkin seeds are used for the eyes, and a raspberry is used for that turkey neck thing... oh yes, the wattle).
- Cucumber wrapped in turkey and tied with the skin from the cucumber
- Tangerine looking pumpkin snacks (celery is used as the stem)
- Pumpkin smoothies from fresh pumpkin and whipped pumpkin “lattes” using pumpkin
- spice and frothed almond milk. Remember that pumpkin is high in vitamin A and so good for your teeth and gums when cups of sugar aren’t added to it.
- String Cheese Turkey Stick (also a fun craft!)
Baked pumpkin and squash goodies. It’s so easy to substitute sugar for monk fruit sweetener and condensed milk for coconut cream with the same great taste!
Avoid grazing. Your kids should eat Snacks and “treats” at specific times and not throughout the day. This way, your child’s spit and the tongue have time to “clean out the room.”
Position “cleaning supplies” all over the car and house as I mentioned above.
Masks: Make sure your children drink water after snacks and wipe teeth down or brush when
possible before putting their masks back on.

Happy Thanksgiving! Have fun with it and remember, you have at least a week until the candy canes and egg nog start coming out and I start singing “Tis the season to be flossing... fa la la la la...”

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Michelle M. Kelman, DDS - Pediatric Dentist

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Medical Staff, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Lecturer, UCLA School of Dentistry, Pediatrics

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Pediatric Dentist for Medical ReviewBoard, Whattoexpect.com

Pediatric Dentist on Medical Expert Panel, Kidsinthehouse.com + Milowekids.com