Pretty soon we’ll all be carving pumpkins, creating costumes and stocking up on “trick or treat” goodies. As a parent, I love going out with my kids on Halloween night. We have fun seeing all the costumes and going door-to-door in our neighborhood. As a pediatric dentist, I am kind of horrified by the giant pile of sugary treats the kids collect and want to devour immediately.
Our family strategy has been to let the kids pretty much go nuts with the candy on treat-or-treat night. We inspect the candy and then let the kids eat as much as they want on that one night. Then, mysteriously, the candy disappears by November 1st. No one really knows where it goes. There’s a theory that one of the goblins must have hauled it all away to Sugar Land where the cavity-bugs are having their annual feast. This story is working right now for our kids, and we’re sticking with it.
I want to give parents, grandparents and caregivers out there some ideas about how to deal with the Halloween candy. We all want our kids to have a great time on Halloween. However, we can take some small steps to help prevent cavities so that our kids can have healthy, happy smiles for years to come!
Here are some tips from the American Dental Association and SKY Pediatric Dentistry on dealing with Halloween candy:
- Have the kids eat their Halloween candy and other sugary foods with meals. When you eat, your mouth produces saliva that helps wash away food particles. Bacteria that cause cavities feed off sugar and produce acid. Saliva helps to wash away these bacteria and also helps buffer the acid that causes cavities on teeth.
- Avoid hard candy and other sweets that stay in your mouth for a long time. Candy that stays in the mouth for a long time subjects teeth to a prolonged acid attack from cavity-causing bacteria. Many kids “pouch” or hold sweet treats or candy inside the cheek, next to their molars. This puts the sides of these teeth at a great risk for cavities.
- Avoid sticky candies that cling to your teeth. The stickier the treat, the longer it takes for saliva to wash it away. This also applies to the 100% organic, cane-sugar sweetened or “all-natural” treats. Cavity-causing bacteria are equal opportunity sugar-eaters. If it’s sticky and contains sugar, these bacteria don’t care if it’s high fructose corn syrup or free-trade, organic cane-sugar. They still feed on the sugar and produce acid that causes cavities.
- Drink more water. Drinking optimally fluoridated water protects your teeth from cavities. Fluoride helps strengthen your teeth. If you choose to drink bottled water, check the label for the fluoride content. There are brands like “Nursery Water” that contain fluoride, but many bottled waters do not. If you choose not to use fluoride, have another game plan for preventing cavities. Consider using all-natural xylitol products to reduce your family’s risk of tooth-decay.
- Chew sugar-free chewing gum. Sugar-free chewing gum can reduce your child’s risk of cavities. When you chew gum, your saliva flow increases and this can help wash away the cavity-causing bacteria. Saliva can also buffer the acid-attack caused by bacteria. There are also chewing gums with xylitol, a naturally occurring substance that has been shown to reduce cavities.
- Help your child brush their teeth. Kids often miss brushing the gums and brushing the very back teeth. These are common areas where baby teeth and permanent teeth get cavities. Parents and caregivers can help reduce the risk of cavities by helping kids thoroughly brush and floss their teeth.
With a little extra brushing by parents, and a strategy to reduce the amount of candy and sugary snacks, kids can get through Halloween without putting their beautiful smiles at risk for tooth decay. Your child’s dentist can help you develop a Halloween candy game plan.
-by Dr. Mandy Ashley
About Our Dentists: Dr. Mandy Ashley and Dr. Madison Galloway are Board Certified Pediatric Dentists proud to serve the communities of Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, and Glasgow! We look forward to sharing our vision of excellent comprehensive dental care that is fun for children and people with special healthcare needs with your family.
SKY Pediatric Dentistry has been providing dental care to children and adults with special needs since 2013. As board-certified specialists in dentistry for children, our team strives to make going to the dentist as fun as possible while maintaining high-quality treatment and preventative measures. We tailor treatment plans to each child and offer a wide range of treatment options, including sedation, in-office general anesthesia, and also hospital-based dentistry. With over 25 YEARS of doctor experience, SKY Pediatric Dentistry is a great choice for children’s dental care in Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, and Glasgow!
