In the ideal world, kids would be eating apples at Halloween. Unfortunately, unless your kid is obsessed with healthy eating, it can be rather challenging to stop them from indulging…and fair enough – it’s part of being a kid after all! That said, if you are giving out Halloween treats this year, you could do …
In the ideal world, kids would be eating apples at Halloween. Unfortunately, unless your kid is obsessed with healthy eating, it can be rather challenging to stop them from indulging…and fair enough – it’s part of being a kid after all!
That said, if you are giving out Halloween treats this year, you could do your part by giving away the “better” options and stay away from the options that are more detrimental to oral health. Plus, when you are safety checking your children’s Halloween bags after they get home, you may be able to encourage them to stick to the more teeth-friendly choices. It is also important to discuss this with them so that they understand what can happen if they don’t take proper care of their teeth.
Better Halloween Treat Choices:
Although these may be harder to come by, anything sugar-free is obviously going to protect from cavities. This can include sugar-free candies that will stimulate saliva to help prevent dry mouth. Plaque builds up much faster in a dry mouth.
Packs of sugar-free gum are also a good choice. Gum also helps dislodge food particles from between the teeth after meals and also increases saliva.
Halloween is abundant with chocolate treats…but if you can find dark chocolate, all the better! It is much better from a health perspective than milk chocolate.
What Not to Buy:
Sour candies are highly acidic and can break down tooth enamel. (It is best to wait about 30 minutes before brushing after eating acidic candies – brushing too soon has the potential to do even more damage, as the acid can be brushed into the teeth.)
Sticky and chewy treats like caramels, taffy, and gummy bears can get stuck in the crevices of the teeth, which can also erode the enamel.
The bottom line is that anything that has sugar can cause tooth decay.
Good oral hygiene habits are important ALL of the time, but even more so when consuming more candy than usual. Be sure your children are brushing at least twice a day…for at least two minutes at a time.
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