This Halloween, let the kids enjoy the festivities without harboring guilt about all those sweet sugary treats they will be collecting.  Check out our “tricks” for protecting your kids’ teeth without depriving them the fun of getting dressed up and going door-to-door for candy!

Trick-or-Treat … Not Trick-or-EAT
Before heading out today – explain to your little trick-or-treaters that they shouldn’t eat candy while on the go. To be safe, a responsible adult should inspect all collected goodies before any are consumed. This will also reduce the amount of treats the kids will eat, and allow everyone to enjoy the activity instead of bickering over what can and can’t be eaten. After you get home, designate a specific time each day – optimally following a meal or snack time – that one or two pieces of candy can be enjoyed. 

Send a Sweet Message
Teaching your children the lesson of “everything in moderation” is an extremely important one, especially when it comes to sweets, since you don’t want to create a negative association. Halloween is a great time to enforce this idea, so once you get home go through their candy-cache along with the kids and let them pick a specific amount of items to keep and enjoy.  Then, be sure to remove the rest of the candy quickly!

Choose wisely
Not all candy is created equal, especially when it comes to impacting oral health. The worst offenders are sugary treats that are either sticky or long-lasting, such as gummy bears and lollipops.  Hard candies are doubly bad since they can also cause broken or chip teeth.  Encourage your kids to remove these items from their baskets – or better yet not pick them up at all!

To learn more about protecting your child’s teeth, visit Little Smiles of Roselle Park Dental or call us at 908-998-4698.