Good dental health and candy are often competing ideas. Whether it’s trick-or-treating on Halloween, indulging in a goodie bag full of birthday treats, or choosing from a box of chocolates after a winter celebration, candy is one of those foods that’s easy to have for many days. Parents worry about overindulgence, tummy aches, low nutritional value, and the many behavioral side effects of having too much of a sugary treat.
Delta Dental of Washington shares that it’s possible to make better choices with the types of candy children consume and the ones parents distribute on holidays like Halloween. These are recommendations for good dental health, not only for Halloween, but year round.
Sweet treats without the tricks
When consumed in moderation, these candies are your best bet when you need to supply some sweet treats:
- Dark chocolate has far less sugar than other candies and can be brushed off teeth more easily. Some studies have even found that dark chocolate contains a compound that can help harden tooth enamel and help fight plaque.
- Candy with nuts help break up the stickiness that can cause cavities to develop. The crunch nuts add to chocolate bars and other candies can also help break up plaque already on teeth.
- Sugar-free gum, like Xylitol-flavored, is a natural sugar that fights off cavities and is a great option for a sweet treat that encourages saliva production while being less harmful for your smile.
- Sugar-free lollipops, like Xylitol-flavored suckers, also encourage saliva production while theyāre enjoyed and donāt harm teeth the same way hard candies do.
Scary smile candies
No candy is a friend to teeth, but these are especially bad cavity culprits. For your next Halloween haul, skip the sticky, sour and hard candies:
- Sticky candies like taffy, caramel or gummies are difficult to remove from teeth and can damage dental work in the process. A thin layer of the candy can coat the teeth and resist even the most powerful brushing, giving bacteria more time to enact tooth decay.
- Sour candies can erode the enamel on your teeth, permanently impacting their color and natural resistance to tooth decay. As tasty as sour candies are, they can contribute to tooth sensitivity and are high in sugar. To help your saliva neutralize the acids in sour candies when you do choose to indulge, wait 30-minutes before brushingāit will prevent further damage to tooth enamel.
- Hard candies like lollipops, rock candies and suckers take a long time to dissolve in your mouth and you can run the risk of cracking a tooth. With high sugar content, hard candies provide the bacteria in your mouth with access to highly concentrated sugar levels that can rapidly decay your teeth.
When you do have candy
When your family does partake in Halloween candy, try to savor sweets at mealtimes as dessert. Eating candies with other foods helps wash away sugar and bacteria left behind by candy, especially with some sips of water in between to help wash it down.
āOffer a pre-trick-or-treating snack to your kids before you run out the door,ā said Kim Trieu, DDS, a Delta Dental of Washington member dentist, who also teaches at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. āEating a healthy snack or dinner before candy collecting helps avoid late night candy snacking sessions.ā
Rationing the big Halloween haul to one or two pieces of candy per day helps kids see candy as a treat rather than a bottomless buffet. Chocolate candy can even be frozen and kept for six to eight months past the expiration date for candy treats all year long.
Make sure to get a good brush and floss in before bed on Halloween to help keep the sugar bugs at bay.
Out of sight, out of mind and for a good cause
Sometimes, having large amounts of candy at home can be too much temptation for kids (and adults). It’s better to get it out of the house- divide it and re-gift it to other families or find an organization to take the donation. Dentists around the Seattle area also have buy-back programs. Contact your local dentist to see if they participate, or visit one of the offices below. Show up at the dentist’s office at the designated times and trade your candy for cash.
Seattle Kids Dentistry
Date/Time: November 1-6 during office hours
Address: 945 Elliott Ave. W., #101 SeattleĀ 98119
Contact: 206-743-8660
Seattle Dentistry will collect candy on November 1-6, during normal business hours. Paying $1/lb up to 10 lbs.
Molen Orthodontics
Address: Auburn, Sumner and Enumclaw
Date: November 1, 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Molen Orthodontics will buy leftover Halloween treats at $2 per pound, up to 10 pounds per child. Kids can also earn an extra $1 for bringing in two or more canned food items and another $1 for wearing their Halloween costumes.
Auburn location: 1110 Harvey Rd., Auburn, WA 98002
253-939-2552
Enumclaw location: 1771 Farrelly St., Enumclaw, WA 98022
253-939-2552
Sumner location: 16209 64th St. E, Sumner, WA 98390
253-939-2552
If you belong to this specialty recycling service, Halloween candy will be your featured category soon. Check your Ridwell account for more information. They’ll take anything individually wrapped and not Halloween-specific and give it to several organizations, including Birthday Dreams, White Center Food Bank, Downtown Emergency Service Center, and Rainier Valley Food Bank.
Places to send your treats
- Send your candy to Operation Shoebox. Individually wrapped candies are accepted. Note: Heat-resistant candy donations are needed for warmer weather.
- Ship or drop off your candies to Birthday Dreams. We’ve featured them before, and they are a unique organization, granting birthday wishes to children in need. Note: Candies must be individually wrapped and not holiday-themed. So, no Reese pumpkin-shaped peanut butter cups or Halloween-themed packaging.
- Donate leftover candy to Troops in a location near you! Treats for Troops offers drop-off locations in several parts of WA. You can also register as a candy collection site and ship to the Soldier’s Angels Headquarters.
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