In the Know for You to Know

Halloween is the sweet time of the year when children enjoy dressing up in their favorite character costume and going out trick or treating, collecting candy and treats from friends and neighbors.

Leading up to Halloween and in the weeks after there are steps you can take to keep your child’s teeth healthy. Keeping candy and brushing guidelines consistent and positive, allows your family’s Halloween to be less about arguing and supervising candy.

Make a plan together so everyone knows what to expect and stick to it. This is also a great opportunity to teach your child about moderation, a balanced diet and healthy indulging.

Tooth Friendly Tips

Check out these dental tips for a happy Halloween –

1. Sort and check the candy bag together

When you get home from trick or treating sit down at the table with your child and sort and check treats as you go through their treat bag with them. Help your child pick the healthiest choices. Allow them to eat these choices within a specific period of time in the kitchen rather than continually snacking throughout the night and into the next few days. By doing this you’re done and everyone is happy. Remember to keep candy out of their bedroom.

2. Sticky and hard candies stay in the mouth for a long time

Staying away from hard candies, taffy, dried fruits, caramels, and other chewy, sticky candy is a good idea. When choosing candy, less sticky and less sour goodies like pretzels, sugar free gum and chocolate are always a good choice. Chocolate without any mix-ins is great because it slides off and there’s nothing to get stuck in their teeth.

3. Water is your friend

Drink fluoridated water (from the tap or bottled) to help wash away any sticky gooey chewies. Water is really good for you and your teeth.

4. Brush the candy away

After trick or treating it’s important to make sure to floss and brush your child’s teeth. It takes 2 minutes of brushing to clean away all the candy and flossing to remove what has gotten in between their teeth. Keeping up with your flossing and brushing routine is important every day and teaches good consistent habits.

5. Candy is not a healthy snack

Don’t allow the Halloween candy stash to be a substitute for healthy snacks. Cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, apple slices, and easy to peel mandarin and clementine oranges are great snack choices.

Halloween is an exciting and enchanting time for parents and children. It’s a treat for parents to see their child’s enthusiasm dressing up and for children to comb through scary decorations for their rewarding sweet treats.

Upon returning home with your child’s over flowing stash of goodies, take this opportunity to share lessons for making healthy choices and also to reinforce good dental habits.

What is your child’s most memorable Halloween costume? Which sweet treat is your child’s favorite? We’d really like to know! Send us an email at kidstoothhotline@proton.me. Like us or Chat with us on Facebook at facebook.com/kidstoothhotline

More tips? We have lots. We’re here just for kids!