Your child has been looking forward to trick-or-treating for months. They’ve carefully picked out their costume and dreamed about all the candy they’ll receive. But, as a concerned parent, you worry about cavities after Halloween. Is there candy that’s more smile friendly than others? How can you make sure your child makes it through without damage to their teeth? Read on to find out!
Go with Chocolate
Believe it or not, chocolate is actually the least harmful candy your child can have. Yes, it still has sugar, but its texture makes it easier to clean off than other candy. Dark chocolate is even better because it has significantly less sugar than milk chocolate!
Fortunately, chocolate is one of the most common candies that people hand out during Halloween. Just beware that chocolates that have caramel or other sticky things in them pose a higher risk to your child’s teeth.
Avoid These Candies
As much as possible, you should limit your child’s consumption of the following candies:
- Gummy or sticky candy: Kids love fruit snacks, gummy bears, and other similar candy, but the truth is that tiny remnants of these candies stay behind on teeth and can be challenging to remove.
- Sour candy: When your child has sour candy, they eat more sugar than with other sweet options. This type is more acidic and attacks tooth enamel, the protective layer on the outside of teeth.
- Hard candy: Biting down on something hard, such as hard candy, can chip or crack teeth. However, if your child sucks on hard candy, it keeps sugar in their mouth for much longer, allowing tooth decay more opportunity to set in.
- Popcorn balls: Not only can popcorn kernels becomes stuck in between your child’s teeth, but the sticky, sugary stuff that holds popcorn balls together can make this treat less than ideal.
How to Keep Your Child’s Teeth in Good Condition
Banning all candy during Halloween is not very practical. Your child may even consider it torture! Allow them to enjoy the spoils of their trick-or-treating but with moderation. You must also make sure their teeth are cleaned on a daily basis. Brushing and flossing can keep sugar and bacteria from harming your child’s teeth. Then, every six months, be sure to take your child to see a pediatric dentist for a checkup and cleaning to catch any cavities as quickly as possible and prevent them from damaging your child’s smile in the future.
You may not be able to stop your child from eating any candy, but you can help them make smarter choices in their candy consumption and teach them healthy habits that will keep their smile strong!
About the Practice
At Sprout Dentistry for Kids, our board-certified pediatric dentists, Dr. Justin Chan and Dr. Sage Yoo, have the training and skill to treat young patients with cavities. However, they prefer to help them learn proper preventive care habits. As fathers, they realize that sweets are part of parenting, but they can share tips to other parents for caring for little ones’ smiles. Would you like to schedule an appointment with us? Contact us online or call our McKinney office at 469-813-7127.