Halloween Tips for Healthy Teeth

Whether you have ghosts or goblins around the house or not, the lure of Halloween candy and treats will be around this month. If you do have young ones, there are a few tips we can offer before their inevitable increase of candy consumption.

For Safety:

Inspect any candy received during trick or treating adventures.

What to Save and What to Discard:

After Trick or Treating Separate your child’s treats.
Hard Candy including Lolly Pops should be gotten rid of, they are very bad for children’s teeth.
Potato Chips, Sunflower Seeds, Popcorn are great snacks to save as future treats.
Soft chewy candy including granola bars should be eaten quickly and if possible the fissured chewing surfaces of the teeth brushed.
Chocolates and chocolate bars can be saved as special treats.

For Health:

Limit the amount of sweets they consume.
Ensure they eat a large, healthy meal before they venture out (if they are not hungry, they will be less likely to sneak too many treats during their journey).

For Their Teeth:

Ensure they eat any treat during a short period of time (to reduce the exposure to their teeth).
Encourage them to rinse with water immediately after they consume any sugary or starchy treat.
Limit sticky and hard candies, especially for those with braces.
Ensure they brush and floss at least twice daily.
Speak to us about dental sealants to offer increased protection for their teeth.

For you:

Wait until a day or two before Halloween to purchase any candy. If it’s not in the house, you won’t eat it.
Stay away from the candies you bought for Trick or Treaters. If you need a treat, reward yourself with something responsible and more health conscious (a piece of imported dark chocolate often hits the spot).
Take any leftover candies to your office in the morning so they are not around your home to tempt you.

If you have to drive, please take extra care for trick-o-treators on the street. We encourage you to dress up, remember to have fun, and oh yeah…Happy Halloween!