Tips to Safely Dress Up Your Teeth for Halloween

The spooky season is well on its way, and you may already be contemplating your perfect Halloween costume. These days, getting access to all those super-cool accessories to really make a costume authentic is easy, thanks to the internet. From costume contacts to change the color or shape of your eyes to hairpieces and costume fangs - you can do a lot of fun things.

Changing the appearance of your teeth may be something you want to do to complete your Halloween costume, but some Halloween fads these days have to be used with precautions. Whether you are planning to install temporary fangs for a vampire costume or blackout your teeth to look like a goblin, read these few tips to keep in mind so your fun doesn't harm your teeth.

Be Careful with Cosmetic Fangs with Adhesives

These days, fangs are far more realistic in appearance and far more advanced. The fangs usually come in sets of two that slip right over the canines and can be held in place with a dental adhesive. The dental adhesive included with cosmetic fangs should be temporary and wash off easily, but you do have to be careful about the products you use.

Some low-quality fangs you find may come with toxic glue that is not safe for your teeth and not easy to remove. In 2018, a woman installed a pair of fangs to complete her zombie look and had to have them removed by an emergency dentist because she couldn't remove them on her own. Buy fangs only from a trustworthy source and if in doubt, use denture glue to make them stick.

Watch Out for Staining Wax Coatings for Blacking Out Teeth

Blacked-out teeth are the ideal finishing touch for all kinds of costumes, and you have plenty of options for products to help you achieve the look. Make sure you are careful with the products you pick so you don't end up with ugly enamel stains after Halloween is over. Most products are simply created out of a colored wax that will peel away easily when you're done.

Teeth blackout products may not good to use if:

• You have veneers that may stain easier than normal teeth
• You have braces, a retainer, or something the waxy bits may get stuck on or behind
• You have just had your teeth whitened and they are more susceptible to stains

Keep in mind that tutorials on how to blackout your teeth for Halloween are easy to find, but not all of those tutorials are safe. Using things like a permanent marker, nail polish, or certain types of makeup are not good options to layer onto the teeth. Look for non-toxic products designed for the purpose only.

Be Careful with Grills or Dental Jewelry

Your rap star outfit needs a grill to be perfect and you find a snazzy one online all decked out in fake diamonds and a lot of glitz. The cosmetic grill is removable and most are perfectly safe, but you need to watch out for certain things when picking out this kind of mouth jewelry, such as:

• Grills or jewelry made out of metal that has lead components
• Pieces that have sharp edges that could cut your lips or gums
• Grills that fit too tight against your teeth

The America Dental Association also recommends that you remove your mouth jewelry while eating and clean your teeth before putting the piece back on. Likewise, you should not wear these pieces for too long or use unsafe glue to make them stay in place.

Dressing up your smile for Halloween is a lot of fun. However, make sure you don't do anything unsafe to harm your mouth in the process. Reach out to us at Rabel Family Dental General Dentistry for advice.