Halloween: Trick-or-Treating and Haunted Houses

As Halloween approaches, children get excited about trick-or-treating and haunted houses. Meanwhile parents worry about all the candy and possible dental cavities. Worry no more! Here are 5 tips from your pediatric dentist in Havertown.

At the end of trick-or-treating, sit down together and sort out the candy into sticky and non-sticky candy.
Decide on the number of non-sticky candy each child can keep. Donate or give away sticky and extra candy.
Select a treat time when your children can have some candy each day. This will limit constant snacking on the treats, which is a great risk for tooth decay.
Brush and floss your child’s teeth after the candy feast. If this is not possible, rinse with water.
Have fun with your children as they practice making choices, moderation and controlled candy consumption. This is a skill they will need always.

By applying these five strategies, you have a win-win situation. Children get to go on their trick-or-treating adventure and get to eat part of their treat. Parents get to control the type and quantity of candy each child gets to keep. The parent-child teams agree on brushing and flossing the teeth after candy is eaten.

Halloween treats to avoid: Caramel, sour candy, bubble gum, gummies, taffy.
These chewy treats tend to stick to teeth for long time providing “food” for the bacteria in the mouth to feed on and produce acid that breaks down teeth.

Halloween treats that are ok: Crackers, milk chocolate, pretzels.
Chocolate dissolves quickly in the mouth and does not sick to the teeth. Pretzels and crackers are healthier snacks compared to candy.

Best Halloween treats: Dark chocolate and sugar-free candy or gum.
Candy or gum made with xylitol has been shown to protect teeth while increasing the flow of saliva, which rinses away excess acid or sugars from the teeth.

Have fun with this year’s trick-or-treating and haunted houses!

Eagle Crest Pediatric Dentistry

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