It’s almost Halloween! Do you have your costumes all picked out and ready to go?! We hope you’re doing something fun. As fun as Halloween can be to dress up and get lots of goodies, it can be a little spooky for your teeth! Here are some tips and tricks to help minimize the damage to your teeth from the candy haul we’re sure your kiddos will get after trick-or-treating.
Limit the candy binging to one day: If that night or the next day, your kids want to binge out on their Halloween goods, one time of doing this isn’t going to cause a disaster of cavities in their mouth. If they are binging on it for a week straight, that’s another story. Let them know they can pick out a handful of candy they are most excited to eat and they can have it all in one night/sitting (you might not get much sleep but their teeth will be happier!).
Be picky about what treats are eaten: As we all know, there are all kinds of different treats that are handed out on Halloween. Not all sweets are created equal however! This tip applies not just to Halloween but any other day as well if treats are being eaten. Chocolate over sticky, gummy candies, always! Chocolate (especially dark) is much better for the teeth than gummy or sticky sweets. Chocolate, unlike sticky sweets (and crackers for that matter) melts away and is not left on the teeth or in the mouth to prolong the contact of the sugar (or simple carbohydrates in the case of crackers) on the teeth. In the book More Chocolate, No Cavities by Dr. Roger Lucas, he states that because dark chocolate is higher in fat, “cavity causing bacteria won’t selectively only break down the sugars in chocolate; it must process the fat, too. Since it has to wade through all of the fat molecules, it will process the sugar a little more slowly.” His book is a great resource on healthy snacking!
Sell your candy to us: After Halloween we offer what we call a candy buy back. We pay $1 per pound of candy up to 5 pounds! Your child can bring their haul into us and earn some cash instead of cavities. Just come on in during our office hours on November 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th this year and let the front desk know you’re here to sell your candy!
Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you and your kiddos to have a fun and healthier Halloween!