By Dr. Dan Beroukhim, DDS
Between Halloween parties with friends, parties at school, special events around town, and trick-or-treating in the neighborhoods, our young ones collect a LOT of Halloween candy at this time of the year. Pounds and pounds of it!
We certainly don’t want them eating all that candy, but trick-or-treating is part of the fun so we also don’t want to limit their participation in these events either.
Every year, dentists and orthodontists throughout our community participate in a Halloween candy buy-back event, exchanging Halloween treats for cash. They then ship all the candy to Operation Gratitude, which delivers it to our troops overseas so they can enjoy the sweet treats.
While it’s unlikely you will convince your kids to give up all their candy, here are some tips to minimize decay that is generally caused by candy.
- Sort it out. Don’t allow kids to immediately rip into their candy when they return from trick-or-treating. Sort the candy into categories with them based on how each will affect their teeth.
- Avoid the sticky stuff. The worst treats for kid’s teeth are gummies, caramels, and sour candies. The chewy, sticky candies get stuck in the grooves of the teeth making it hard for saliva to wash them away, eventually leading to tooth decay.
- Chocolate is your friend. Chocolate is generally less sticky than other treats and doesn’t have the high acidity that can lead to decay of tooth enamel. In fact, dark chocolate contains antioxidants than can inhibit bacteria from sticking to teeth.
Readers with inquiries about finding a local dentist that participates in this program, contact Dr. Dan at danberoukhimdds@gmail.com and he will be happy to guide you. Visit him at www.culvercitydental.com