Most little boys and ghouls will dress up and ring neighborhood doorbells hoping to collect a large stash of candy this Halloween. After trick-or-treating, Delta Dental of Virginia encourages parents to pay close attention to the types of treats children take from the bag to protect their little teeth from sugar terror.
“While no sweets are good for teeth, some are better than others,” said Dr. Joe Dill, DDS, vice president professional services for Delta Dental of Virginia. “Candy that melts and disappears quickly is least harmful to kids’ teeth. The longer teeth are exposed to sugar, the longer bacteria can feed on it, which could produce cavity-causing acid.”
Nearly three of four American households pass out Halloween candy, according to the Delta Dental Children’s Oral Health Survey. Chocolate was the number one treat handed out (73 percent), followed by sweet candy (54 percent), chewy candy (36 percent), hard candy (35 percent) and caramel (21 percent).
Dill says this is somewhat good news for parents. Chocolate is one of the better options because it dissolves fairly quickly, which decreases the amount of time sugar stays in contact with teeth. But it’s important to remember that ANY sugary treat can cause tooth decay, so it’s best to limit the total amount of sugar intake, regardless of the form it comes in.
Delta Dental offers these five tips for making this a tooth-friendly Halloween.
- Encourage children to have a good meal prior to trick-or-treating so there will be less temptation to fill up on candy. Taking healthy snacks along for kids to eat may help them stay full all night long.
- Limit the amount of chewy and hard candies kids eat. Hard candy is tough on teeth because it tends to be sucked on at a leisurely pace for an extended period of time. Chewy, sticky treats are damaging because they are high in sugar, spend a prolonged amount of time stuck to teeth and are more difficult for saliva to break down.
- Only allow kids to have candy in small portions at limited times, such as after a meal, as dessert or at regular snack times. Nearly 90 percent of parents say their kids consume Halloween candy this way. It’s best to avoid letting kids snack on candy throughout the day.
- Kids should brush their teeth or at least rinse with water after eating sweets. Remember that high sugar diets are detrimental to oral and overall health, and children should always brush their teeth at least twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste, floss once a day and visit the dentist regularly.
- Give kids something other than candy. Another option is to let children trade in their treats for a toy, and then donate the candy to the troops or a local dentist buy-back program. Some houses don’t even pass out candy. In fact, nearly 25 percent of parents hand out non-candy items, such as toys, money or fruit.
For additional tips on how to help keep kids’ teeth healthy during Halloween and all year long, visit the Tooth Fairy’s Halloween website at ToothFairyTrickyTreats.com.
