October is here and Halloween is right on its heels! This spooky seasonal favorite is a time of dressing up, carving pumpkins and getting our hands on festive treats! If you are concerned about your family’s smiles during the holidays, make sure that everyone brushes and flosses every day no matter how busy they are.
Consider making a few adjustments to your Halloween treat lineup. If your child is indulging for one night only or once a day, they should be fine as long as they are brushing, rinsing and flossing well afterward. But if they are going to reach for these over time, it’s better to not give them access to these:
Say NO to These Tricky Halloween Favorites
The sugar in these popular favorites can damage tooth enamel and make teeth vulnerable to cavities. We recommend staying away from hard or chewy, sticky candy as they can easily become trapped between the teeth and adhere around the gumline. Their bacterial residue is more difficult to remove easily so that makes them harder on teeth:
- Caramels and caramel apples
- Gummy candies
- Hard-to-chew, sticky candy (Jolly Ranchers)
- Jawbreakers
- Sour candies (too acidic)
- Taffy
Instead, make some delicious changes that are better for your family’s teeth! They can enjoy sweets that melt quickly in the mouth so there’s less time to bathe teeth in sugar and have sugary particles stuck between teeth where they can attack the enamel layer. Melt-in-your-mouth soft chocolates are a great way to satisfy Halloween cravings without lingering on tooth surfaces. Safer choices include:
- Peanut Butter Cups
- Kit Kats
- Three Musketeers
- Peppermint Patties
- Smarties
- Bottle caps
Make sure your child has access to healthy snacks like apple slices, carrot sticks and celery with peanut butter and keep away the cavity monsters by making sure they brush and floss every day. Our Family Dentistry of Frisco team is here for your family’s smiles, so call (469) 362-3150 today!
