In the Know for You To Know

Halloween is here!

It’s the time of year when children enjoy dressing up in their favorite costume, going out trick-or-treating and trying to see how much candy and treats they can collect from friends and neighbors.

Every where you look there’s chocolates and sugary treats ready to tempt our eager trick or treaters.

So, how do you keep treats reasonable while enjoying your family’s fun Halloween trick-or treating?

I’ve put together our top picks for tooth friendly treats your child will love this Halloween. You can even make them together.

5 Hauntingly Good Halloween Treats

Is this your annual Halloween monster mash or a gathering of your ghosts and goblins? No Halloween bash is complete without some scary snacks.

Chocolate Dipped Orange Pumpkins

Peel mandarin oranges and separate the individual wedges. Dip the orange wedges into melted chocolate, place on a parchment lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator until firm. A bite sized black and orange treat that’s right for the season.

Mummy Pizza

Whether you choose pizza dough, english muffins, pita, or a tortilla as your base, cover with your favorite tomato sauce and criss-cross slices of mozzarella cheese (or your child’s favorite cheese). Slice green or black olives to make the eyes. Bake until fully cooked.

Apple Monster Mouth

Between 2 slices of apple spread your favorite nut butter. Place a slice of strawberry, peach, or red plum onto of the nut butter to create the “tongue”. For the teeth place almond slices into the nut butter. Apples are great for stimulating saliva production, which naturally cleanse the teeth, making them an ideal choice for a healthy Halloween snack.

Jack-O-Lantern Peppers with Witch Dip and Vegetable Broomsticks

Remove the stem and seeds from a bell pepper. Make cut outs in the pepper for the eyes, nose and mouth. Fill one pepper with your family favorite dip or dressing. Fill another pepper with pepper slices, carrot sticks, broccoli pieces, cucumber slices, carrot sticks or pretzels. Veggies aren’t only tasty and crunchy. They naturally clean teeth by stimulating saliva production. A great choice for a Halloween snack.

Witches Broomsticks

Witches Broomsticks are fun, yummy and festive. Choose 2 of your family’s favorite cheese sticks. Cut each cheese stick to resemble the bristles of a broom. Place two cheese sticks around a pretzel stick or pretzel rod and tie together with a chive or use a vegetable peeler to create thin carrot ribbons to tie the broom together. Cheese is healthy for teeth and can help prevent cavities.

5 TOOTH FRIENDLY TIPS FOR A HAPPY HALLOWEEN

1. 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 day. Remember to keep candy out of their bedroom.
2. Water is your friend. Drink water to help wash away any gooey chewy candy that’s stuck in their teeth. Water is really good for you and your teeth.
3. Sticky and hard candies stay in their mouths for a long time. 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.
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 reinforces consistency.
5. Don’t allow the Halloween candy stash to be a substitute for healthy snacks. Cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, celery, carrot sticks, apple slices are great choices.

Create Great Memories

Halloween is every child’s dream. It’s the season of costumes and candy and candy and more candy. With all the joy trick-or treating brings, we don’t want to crush their excitement.

So be the cool parent and the Halloween Hero because a healthy Halloween doesn’t mean dull and boring. Being creative with snacks and staying committed to your child’s oral hygiene routine allows you both to have fun!

Does your family like to trick or do you like the treats? Are you doing a family costume theme or does everyone choose their own? What are your children’s all time must have no way it will ever change favorite Halloween treat? Where does your child like to keep their candy stash? Share with us your Halloween treat ideas and experiences! Tell us, We’d really like to know! Email us at kidstoothhotline@proton.me Like Us on Facebook

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

In the Know for You to Know

Halloween is finally here!

For the children it’s all about the excitement. The thrill of dressing up in their costumes to go out trick-or-treating to collect candy and trinkets from friends and neighbors.

For you it’s how to manage the sweets while keeping your child’s teeth healthy. Part of you is saying for them to have fun and enjoy some candy. Then you’re also thinking about keeping their teeth healthy.

So how do you keep candy and toothbrushing realistic while allowing your child to have a delightful time?

5 Tooth Friendly Tips For A Happy Halloween And For The Days After

1. 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 day. By doing this you’re done and everyone is happy. Remember to keep candy out of their bedroom.
2. Water is your friend. Drink water to help wash away any gooey chewy candy that’s stuck in their teeth. Water is really good for you and your teeth.
3. Sticky and hard candies stay in their mouths for a long time. It’s a good idea to stay away from taffy, dried fruits, caramels, and other chewy, sticky candy. Select less sticky and less sour goodies like pretzels, sugar free gum and chocolate. Chocolate without any mix-ins is great because it slides off and there’s nothing to get stuck in their 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 reinforces consistency.
5. Don’t allow the Halloween candy stash to be a substitute for healthy snacks. Cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, celery, carrot sticks, apple slices are great options.

What Is National Brush Day?

Each year we celebrate National Brush Day on November 1st.

The legend goes, that to make up for those extra sweet indulgences on Halloween we celebrate today to help your healthy toothbrushing routine.

How Do We Celebrate?

On this day it’s being mindful of how important brushing your child’s teeth for 2 minutes 2x’s a day is for everyone. Brushing is actually fun when you do it together and watching videos to make sure you get into all those tooth nooks and crannies.

Some ways to celebrate ~

• Brushing and flossing #2min2x (www.2min2x.org)
• Choose your family toothbrushing song or make up your own song
• Have a family brushing contest
• Select your favorite toothpaste flavor of the week
• Smile and always make brushing fun

When Do We Brush?

Brushing for 2 minutes in the morning after breakfast and for 2 minutes before bed (and after flossing) is a great way to healthy teeth and gums.

How Often Do We Brush?

Twice a day every day. That’s 7days a week/365 days a year. Yes, even on school days, holidays, vacations and weekends.

What Do We Need?

You’ll need 3 things, a soft bristle toothbrush (age appropriate size), a dab will do ya size of toothpaste (fluoride preferred), and a flosser.

What Comes Next?

Remember to floss first. Flossing first allows you to take out all the yucky stuff that gets caught in-between your child’s teeth (there’s always stuff) and then you brush all that away at once.

If you floss second, then you’ll have to brush again to take the
in-between teeth stuff away.

When Should We Start?

National Brush Day is a great day to start. This way it will always be your anniversary for good oral health!

What To Remember

Halloween is a thrilling time for parents and children. It’s a treat for parents to see their child’s enthusiasm about 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.

You can continue all this enthusiasm on November 1st. November 1st is National Brush Day. Celebrate with brushing and flossing #2min2x, choose your family toothbrushing song, have a family brushing competition, select your favorite toothpaste flavor of the week; and always make brushing fun.

Have A Spooktacular Halloween! and remember to Lift Your Toothbrush For National Brush Day!

Tell us ~Are you having a Halloween Bash or going out Trick-or-Treating? What costume is your child looking forward to wearing? Which is your most memorable costume? Share your favorite toothbrushing song with us. What is your family’s toothpaste flavor this week? If you could create your own toothpaste flavor, what would it be? We’d really like to know! Send us an email at kidstoothhotline@proton.me. Like us or Chat with us on Facebook.

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

In the Know for You to Know

Halloween is almost here. This is the sweet time of year when children enjoy dressing up in their favorite costume, going out trick-or-treating as they collect candy and treats from friends and neighbors.

Leading up to Halloween, everywhere you look there’s chocolates and sugary treats ready to tempt your eager trick or treaters.

So, how do you keep treats reasonable while enjoying your family’s fun Halloween trick-or treating?

Tasty And Fun Halloween Treats

Whether it’s your annual Halloween monster mash, a gathering of your ghosts and goblins, appetizers to go with a witch’s brew or a pre trick-or-treat treat, no Halloween bash is complete without some scary snacks.

Try our top treats you can prepare with your child and your child will love this Halloween~

Chocolate Dipped Orange Pumpkins

Peel mandarin oranges and separate the individual wedges. Dip the orange wedges into melted chocolate, place on a parchment lined sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator until firm. A bite sized black and orange treat just right for the season.

Spider Bites

Fun and easy to prepare. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a bowl then add pretzel sticks. Arrange the pretzel sticks in the shape of a spider on a parchment lined sheet pan, place in the refrigerator or freezer until firm.

Mummy Pizza

Whether you choose pizza dough, english muffins, pita, or a tortilla as your base, cover with your favorite tomato sauce and criss-cross slices of mozzarella cheese (or your child’s favorite cheese). Slice green or black olives to make the eyes. Bake until fully cooked.

Apple Monster Mouth

Quarter an apple (red or green is your choice) and remove the core from each quarter. On the side where you removed the core, slice the apple part way through and spread with your favorite nut butter. Place a slice of strawberry, peach, or red plum onto of the nut butter to create the “tongue”. For the teeth place any nut of your choice into the apple above the through the nut butter. Melt chocolate chips and place a dab of melted chocolate on the bottom of 2 chocolate chips to create the eyes.

Pumpkin Hummus With Broomsticks

Fill a festive bowl with your favorite hummus. Run the back of a spoon through the hummus to create the look of a pumpkin. Serve with carrot sticks, celery sticks, pepper slices or cucumber slices.

Jack-O-Lantern Peppers With Witch Dip And Vegetable Broomsticks

Remove the stem and seeds from a bell pepper. Make cut outs in the pepper for the eyes, nose and mouth. Fill one pepper with your family’s favorite dip or dressing. Fill another pepper with pepper slices, carrot sticks, broccoli pieces, cucumber slices, carrot sticks or pretzels. A colorful, festive, fun way to encourage your child to eat their veggies.

Witch’s Broomsticks

These are fun, yummy and festive. Choose 2 of your family’s favorite cheese sticks. Cut each cheese stick to resemble the bristles of a broom. Place two cheese sticks around a pretzel stick or pretzel rod and tie together with a chive or use a vegetable peeler to create thin carrot ribbons to tie the broom together.

Better Candy Options

When it needs to be candy ~

Dark Chocolate

Choose dark chocolate treats like chocolate bars over sticky, gummy candy. Chocolate melts off the teeth and has anti-oxidants which are good for children.

Sugar-Free Gum

Sugar-free gum contains xylitol, stimulates saliva, neutralizes acids in the mouth, and helps wash away food particles all of which help keep teeth healthy.

Sugar-Free Candy

Sugar-free candy contains xylitol, helps increase the flow of saliva, neutralizes acids in the mouth, and helps wash away food particles which help teeth stay healthy.

Top 3 Candy No-No’s

Part of Halloween fun is indulging. However some candies should be on the no candy list~

Gummy And Sticky Candies

Gummy and sticky candies stay stuck to the teeth which is difficult to brush off.

Hard Candies

Hard candies are so hard that they can cause a child to chip or break a tooth by biting into or chewing on them. Since these candies stay in their mouth for such a long time there is more time for the sugar to stick to their teeth.

Sour Candies

Sour candies taste so sourly good because they are acidic which makes their saliva more acidic and weakens tooth enamel.

Non-Food Goodies Are A Good Choice

When given a choice select children’s play favorites such as ~

• Glow sticks
• Spider rings
• Vampire fangs
• Pencils
• Bubbles
• Bouncy balls
• Finger puppets
• Whistles
• Stickers
• Stencils
• Rubik’s cube
• Yo-yo’s

Halloween is every child’s dream. It’s the holiday of costumes and candy and more candy and even more candy. With all the joy trick-or treating brings, we don’t want to crush their excitement. So be the cool parent and the Halloween Hero, and wonder no more about which Halloween treats are best for your child’s teeth.

Does your family like to trick or do you like the treats? Are you doing a family costume theme or does everyone choose their own? What are your children’s all time must have no way it will ever change favorite Halloween treats? Where does your child like to keep their candy stash and how did you find it? Tell us, We’d really like to know! Email us at kidstoothhotline@proton.me Like Us and Chat with us on Facebook

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