Help your family enjoy Halloween in a healthy way.
Halloween and candy go hand in hand, and kids dream of nothing more than a plastic pumpkin full of treats! Skipping the candy altogether seems like an easy solution, but let’s be honest, it’s just not practical. Halloween is a great time to use candy and treats to teach your kids valuable lessons about healthy eating that will last them a lifetime. So how do you proceed? Here are some tips to keep your kids happy and keep their teeth healthy!
- Reduce and Recycle – make a plan with your kids to go through their candy after their big trick-or-treating adventure so you can help them pick some candy to keep (this may take some negotiating). Un-kept candy can be donated to a food bank or homeless shelter or placed in a care package for troops overseas. It’s a great opportunity to teach kids about responsibility and charity.
- Choose Carefully – Not all candy treats your teeth equally! Sticky candy will stay on your teeth longer and hard candy will expose your teeth to sugar for longer periods. Both types of candy can increase the risk of tooth decay.
- Mealtime Treats – Set a specific time to eat Halloween candy. Eating candy with meals is better for your teeth. Saliva production increases during meals and helps cancel out acids produced by bacteria in your mouth.
- Brush Up – The most important thing you can do is keep up your kids brushing health. Brushing will get rid of the sugars that cause tooth decay and keep your mouth healthy.
Check out this video for even more sugar tips from Dr. Kristy!
Remember, the key to a great Halloween experience is finding a nice balance between eating treats and having healthy teeth. Learning responsibility and great dental practices, along with regular cleaning from Dr. Stanislav and Dr. Dye will set your kids up for a lifetime of healthy teeth!