Drs. Kelly Barbera, Elizabeth Shin Perry and Joey Zeng of Perry Endodontics in Westfield.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — Dr. Elizabeth Shin Perry of Perry Endodontics, located in Westfield at 53 Southampton Road, offers several recommendations to protect teeth from the pitfalls of eating Halloween candy.
“Every year around Halloween, this is a topic for conversation,” Shin Perry said, adding that most people when they look at Halloween candy wonder which is better or worse from a teeth perspective.
Among candies to avoid are hard candies or jawbreakers, which can crack or chip teeth if bitten down too forcefully, often causing significant pain that may lead to infection.
Also potentially harmful are sticky candies, especially for fillings in crowns. “They can do some damage pulling restorations off or out.” She said they cling to the teeth, leading to prolonged sugar exposure and increased risk of decay.
Sour sticky candles are especially bad culprits, according to Shin Perry. The sourness due to acidity is one of the things together with bacteria in the mouth that helps decay to speed along.
“Eating candy overall is not a bad thing,” she said, adding, “I personally recommend chocolate and dark chocolate.”
One way to mitigate the potential harm is to drink water immediately after consuming sweets, which helps to wash away sugary food particles.
Another good practice is to eat candy after meals, when you are already producing saliva, which helps to clean the mouth and neutralize acids.
She also advises to wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth. “It used to be, when I was young they would say brush after a meal. Now we know it takes time for acids to neutralize. With time, teeth start to remineralize and it becomes less damaging.” Waiting about 30 minutes before brushing allows tooth enamel to remineralize and build itself back up.
Shin Perry suggests using Halloween as a teaching opportunity to reinforce why sugar in candy and other sources such as soda and juice are harmful if proper care isn’t taken after consumption, using kid-friendly terms like “sugar bugs” as opposed to bacteria or acid
However, she said, these tips are not just for kids. “Who eats the Halloween candy?” she asked.
“Enjoy the candy, enjoy Halloween. Keep in mind those things we can do to help our teeth.”
According to the American Association of Endodontics, endodontists are specialists in saving teeth, and have two to three years of additional training and use specialized techniques and technologies. While all endodontists are dentists, less than three percent of dentists are endodontists.
Shin Perry started Perry Endodontics 30 years ago in Westfield straight out of training, when she was recruited by general dentists in the area.
“This has been an amazing community,” she said, adding, “My commitment has been to bring world-class endodontics to Westfield and Western Mass. We are the only practice committed to endodontics.”
Endodontists diagnose dental pain and offer root canal treatment and surgeries. They are the specialists that dentists send patients to when they can’t figure out what’s going on. “If you need a root canal, see an endodontist, they can do your treatment predictably and comfortably. There is no better dental specialist to see if you want to save your tooth,” she said, adding, “If you’ve been told you need a tooth extracted, endodontists may be able to save it.” Perry said Endodontists work with all of the general dentists in the area, in what she says is a great collaboration.
Shin Perry currently holds a faculty appointment at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, from which she graduated cum laude with a Doctor of Dental Medicine, and is a lecturer and clinical instructor in endodontics for the Advanced Graduate Endodontic Program. She received her postdoctoral Certificate in Endodontics at the University of Connecticut. She is the vice president and a diplomate of the American Association of Endodontists.
Just starting at the practice is Dr. Joey Zeng, who is expecting to complete his board certification by the American Board of Endodontics within the year. He earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree cum laude from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and went on to complete his specialty training in endodontics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
In addition to caring for patients at Perry Endodontics, Zeng serves as part-time faculty at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where he provides clinical instruction to both predoctoral students and postgraduate residents.
Another member of the practice is Dr. Kelly Barbera, who earned her doctorate of dental medicine at Tufts University School of Dental
Medicine, where she graduated as valedictorian. She completed her post-doctoral Certificate of Specialty in Endodontics at Tufts, and is a diplomate of the American Association of Endodontists. She currently holds a faculty appointment at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine where she is a lecturer and clinical instructor in endodontics for the Advanced Graduate Endodontic Program.
