At Meister Orthodontics in St. Paul, MN,
Dr. Meister, and our
orthodontic experts, know how difficult it can be to ensure your children have a tooth-friendly Halloween, especially with Trick-or-Treating right around the corner! Nothing says autumn more than visiting your local pumpkin patch, picking out scary costumes, and going door to door to fill jack-o-lanterns full of delicious candy. But unfortunately, some of the delicious treats your children will get Halloween night might Monster Mash their teeth and gums!
Hard Halloween candies and sticky sweets contain enormous amounts of sugar that can cake onto your children’s teeth, making it difficult to properly floss and brush all of that cavity-causing sugar away! Here at Meister Orthodontics, it’s our mission to make sure that you and your children have a
spook-tastic Halloween this year, so Dr. Meister and our Twin Cities orthodontic team have compiled a list of tooth-friendly Halloween candy that we guarantee your kids will love, as well as a few tips on when your children should enjoy their sweets!
Halloween Sweet Treats Your Children Can Safely Eat
Convincing your children to portion out their Halloween goodies can be a challenge, but doing so will make sure that their teeth and gums stay happy and healthy! Straying away from hard candies and lollipops, milk-chocolate candies with easy-to-eat ingredients are the safest of all Halloween treats, regardless if your children have braces or not! Additionally, your little goblins and ghouls will most likely receive fun-sized portions of these chocolate bars, helping them cut back on their sugar intake and chewing time compared to king-sized candy. Some of our favorite chocolatey, yet tooth-friendly sweet treats include:
Kit Kats
3 Musketeers
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
York Peppermint Patties
Junior Mints
Hershey Bars
Hershey Kisses
Spooky Halloween Treats Your Children Should Avoid
Beware! Some Halloween treats, such as chewy, gooey, hard candies, can get stuck in your children’s teeth or braces. These candies will put your children’s teeth at risk for harmful plaque and cavity-causing bacteria, so you’ll want to make sure they avoid these
scary treats as much as possible:
Bubblegum
Candy Corn
Caramel apples, or any other caramel candies
Gummy Bears, or any other chewy candies
Jawbreakers, or any other hard candies
Jelly Beans
Licorice
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When Your Children Should Munch On Their Halloween Candy
Regardless of how badly your children want to munch on their candy all day long, it’s best for them to enjoy their sweet treats right before eating a healthy snack! About 90% of all foods that contain sugars enable bacteria in dental plaque to produce acids. This bacterial acid can sit on the teeth and gums for 20 minutes or longer! By allowing your children to have a healthy snack after they indulge in their candies, it will help to wash out or brush off the unwanted sugars and bacterial acids in between and around the teeth. Just make sure to limit their candy intake to once-a-day before snack time!
Get In Touch With Your Twin Cities Orthodontist Today!
By following these simple tips and tricks, you and your children can have a great Halloween while keeping your festivities tooth-friendly! Above all, no matter what candies your children consume this Halloween, make sure your children practice
good oral hygiene by brushing with fluoride toothpaste twice-a-day, flossing once-a-day, and visiting their dental experts at Meister Orthodontics regularly!
For more information on tooth-friendly Halloween treats, feel free to
contact our dental experts today! On behalf of our entire staff at Meister Orthodontics in St. Paul, MN, we hope you and your children have a wonderful Halloween this year!