It’s that time again. Harry Potters and vampires will be walking the streets, ringing doorbells and holding their Halloween buckets out for candy. For dentists, the scariest part of this holiday is what that candy does to kids’ teeth long after they pack away those spooky costumes. While it might be hard to prevent all candy consumption once October 31st rolls around, parents can help keep away the worst offenders. Here are some suggestions from dentists about the candies that scare them the most.
To prevent cavities, steer clear of sour and sticky candies.| Image credit: m01229 via Flickr
Sticky, Sour Candy
Sour candy is worse than sweet candy; it’s not only packed with sugar, but contains citric acid and tends to stick to your teeth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry insists that gummies, caramels and sour candies are the worst for teeth. “Sour candies have a high acidity content, which breaks down tooth enamel, making teeth susceptible to a Mouth Monster invasion,” says the organization.
Hard Candy
Sweet suckers may taste good and last longer, but sucking them exposes your mouth to harsh sugars for longer periods of time, notes Guillaume Lepine, DDS, a Massachusetts-based dentist in Prevention. Worse yet, chewing on these hard candies can break or crack teeth, or damage dental work — like fillings and sealants.
Taffy and Caramels
Like the sweet and sours, these sticky candies get stuck between braces and teeth, allowing plaque to build up. We’ve probably all heard of instances where these chewy candies have yanked out a filling. As noted in Parenting, candies filled with things like caramel are the worst kinds of candy for teeth because they stick to everything, including the grooves of your teeth.
No surprise here: candy corn is not a dentist’s best friend. | Image credit: juushika via Flickr
Candy Corn
A big offender on Delta Dental’s list of bad candies for your teeth, these bite size candies are not as innocuous as they look. Kids grab handfuls of them and keep these harmful sticky sugars in their mouth. The simple truth is that Candy Corn is laden with cavity-causing sugars that eat away at teeth.
The “Good” Candies
Dr. Linda Vidone, dental director of Delta Dental of Massachusetts tells Boston Magazine that she advises parents to choose candy that melts and disappears quickly (like chocolate). She also suggests that sugar-free candy and gum with xylitol
won’t support bacteria in the mouth and produce decay-causing acids. Gum and candy with xylitol may protect teeth by reducing the acids produced by bacteria and increasing saliva to rinse away excess sugars and acids.
Other suggestions include powdery candy that quickly dissolves to keep sugar from sticking to teeth and producing acids and bacteria. Similarly, chocolate dissolves quickly, reducing the amount of time the sugars contact teeth. An added benefit of chocolate is calcium, which may help protect tooth enamel.
Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/4-halloween-candies-dentists-hate-the-most.html#ixzz3p2nlUegv
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