The Spooky Truth About Sugar: 10 Dental Tips for a Healthy Halloween

Trick or Treat.

Give me something good to eat.

Sugar, not costumed ghouls, monsters, or goblins, may be the scariest encounter to visit your family this Halloween. Sugar
is the primary ingredient in Halloween candy and the sweet taste of sugar tastes oh so good, no matter your age.

According to Statistic Brain, annual spending on Halloween candy in 2015 was $2.3 billion dollars. Statistics showed that
77% of Americans bought an average of $27 worth of Halloween candy in 2015.

Boo! The spooky truth about sugar.

The average person consumes approximately 22 teaspoons of sugar per day! Shown right. (Source: National Institute of Health). This amount grossly exceeds the World’s Health Organization recommendation to “limit added sugar(s) to a maximum of 10% of total daily caloric intake”.

Even more alarming is the fact that research has found that many kids consume up to 7,000 calories on Halloween. That is equivalent to 3 cups of sugar! (Source: Centers for Disease Control)

The spooky truth about excessive added sugar is an epidemic among kids and is also the #1 reason that kids develop tooth decay. Excessive sugar intake increases the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity in both children and adults.

10 Dental Tips for a Healthy Halloween

Make a plan
Sort collected candy
Maintain a healthy diet
Eat before you sweet
Stay hydrated
Limit sweets between meals
Brush twice daily
Clean between teeth daily
Visit your dentist every 6 months
Donate excess Halloween candy

Make a plan

A bit of pre-planning can help make your kids night of Trick or Treating a fun experience. Select a few neighborhoods for your child to trick or treat. Limiting the number of neighborhoods your child trick or treats reduces excess amount of Halloween candy they can collect.

Sort collected Halloween candy

Following trick or treating, sit with your kids and help them to sort and select a handful of candies to keep and encourage them to donate the excess to a local Halloween candy buy back event.

Maintain a healthy diet

Gently remind your child that Halloween candy is a “treat” and can be enjoyed in moderation as part of a balanced, healthy diet. Eating balanced, healthy meals will help to keep your child feeling full between meals and help to minimize the urge to enjoying a Halloween sweet treat.

Eat before you sweet

Instead, allow your child to pick a couple candies to enjoy once they finished eating their meal. This not only helps to minimize the pH in the mouth, but also helps to minimize the amount your child will want to eat on a full belly.

Stay well hydrated

Staying hydrated throughout the day will reduce brain “sweet treat” triggers that persuade you to think you want a sweet treat. Additionally, drinking water with containing dental fluoride can help prevent tooth decay.

Limit sweets between meals

Snacking between meals can increase your risk for tooth decay, especially sugar filled snacks. Sugary snacks drop the pH in the mouth significantly. When the pH in the mouth drops below 5.5, the outermost surface of the tooth, called enamel is subject
to erosion, aka demineralization. The longer period that the saliva in the mouth is below 5.5, the increased likelihood that a dental cavity will develop.

Brush twice a day

No matter if it’s Halloween or not, it’s important to maintain an effective daily oral care routine that includes brushing daily for two minutes, two times each day. Battery powered or electric toothbrushes are effective at helping your child effectively remove harmful dental plaque from their teeth and prevent developing gingivitis, inflammation of the gums.

Clean between teeth

Dental floss or single use dental picks help kids remove plaque and food particles from between teeth.

Visit your dentist every six months

Maintain professional teeth cleaning visits with your dentist every six months. Preventive dental visits include:

Professional teeth cleaning to remove dental plaque, tartar, and stain from teeth & gums
Apply preventive, dental fluoride varnish to teeth to help prevent tooth decay
Take periodic dental x-rays to check for tooth decay between teeth
Personalized, home care dental tips to help your child effective care for their teeth between dental visits
Evaluate how the teeth align together, are dental braces recommended
Dentist will examine teeth for tooth decay
Apply dental sealants on newly erupted, permanent molars to help prevent tooth decay

Dentistry for the Entire Family is accepting new dental patients. Call (763) 586-9988 to schedule or request an appointment by email.

Donate your excess Halloween candy

Even if you limit the number of neighborhoods your child trick or treats, it’s still highly likely your kids will collect more than you’ll want them to ever eat. There are several charitable organizations that accept unopened, excess Halloween candy.

Halloween Candy buy back

Dentistry for the Entire Family is especially mindful of keeping your child’s teeth healthy and strong at this time of year. That’s why we’re putting together an awesome event to help your family make the most of all your leftover Halloween candy— without making your kid’s teeth pay the price.

Dates/Time

Friday, November 1, 2019 3:00-4:30pm

Monday, November 4, 2019 3:00-5:00pm

Tuesday, November 5, 2019 3:00-5:00pm

Location
Dentistry for the Entire Family
1099 East Moore Lake Drive
Fridley, MN 55432

How the Sweet Swap Works

Kids unopened Halloween candy will be weighed. Kids will be paid $1 per pound of donated candy up to $3 max payout and will receive a swag bag of oral health goodies. Have more than 3 pounds of candy? We are more than happy to donate ALL your excess unopened candy.
Kid’s have the opportunity to write a message to our military soldiers. Cards will be included in each box of candy a soldier receives.
Kid’s can also elect to have their picture taken at our photo booth. Parents who share and tag (Dentistry for the Entire Family) their kids pictures on Facebook will be entered to win a $50 gift card to AMC movie theaters. Winner will be announced on our Facebook page on Wednesday, November 6, 2019.
This event is open to the public. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors.