The Best – and Worst – Halloween Candy For Your Teeth

We’re all counting down the days until Halloween! As dentists, it can be a difficult holiday to celebrate but it’s important that we let kids be kids and enjoy their special night, even if that means eating a bunch of candy. Everyone loves trick-or-treating, whether you’re out with the kids in costume or answering the door and handing out goodies. While it’s no surprise that over indulging in candy can cause tooth decay, that doesn’t mean you have to skip the fun entirely. The key is to ensure that they brush their teeth throughly after and if you can, be choosy about what types of candy they eat:

Spookiest Offenders
1. Sour Gummies – Not only are they sticky, but they’re acidic too!

2. Hard Sucking Candies – The longer your teeth are exposed to sugar, the worse off they are. Any candy that takes a look time to eat is never a good option.

3. Caramels/Taffy – Super sticky and difficult to remove from your teeth, these little guys can get caught into the smallest of grooves and eat away at your enamel for days.

Mouth Friendly(ish) Treats
Pre-packaged snacks like chips, goldfish or crackers are an easy way to avoid excessive sugar. Chocolate, peanut butter and non-sticky candies are always a safer bet because they dissolve fast and are overall less destructive to enamel and teeth.

You can also opt for non-edible treats like toys. Bouncy balls, stickers or even halloween tattoos are a great options and always put a cavity free smile on kids faces.

Curious what the best dentist-friendly treat is overall? Dark chocolate because it naturally contains less sugar.