With Halloween coming up, it’s time for candy! Trick or treat…what kind of sweets can you eat without destroying your oral health?
Dark Chocolate
Hard candies and sticky toffees can crack and stay on your child’s teeth. Avoid this dental disaster by sorting through your child’s Halloween candy bag with them. Allow them a sweet that will make them happy and keep you calm about the health of their teeth and gums – dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate is a tasty treat that can benefit your oral health. How? The amount of cocoa in dark chocolate prevents bacteria from turning into a harmful acid while the cocoa butter coats your teeth, acting as a shield to cavities.
Guess what else? Dark chocolate is healthier for you than other treats because it has less sugar along with other health benefits. Go ahead, enjoy a day off from your diet to savour some rich dark chocolate.
Drinks with Little to No Sugar
Sugar is attracted to negative bacteria, bacteria that eventually rot your teeth away. Sugar also lowers your pH level retracting the healthy work of saliva. Your saliva has proteins and minerals that help protect your mouth from negative dental situations such as gum disease. Of course, sugar doesn’t have to be eliminated, just be conscious of how much you consume.
Instead of letting your kids drink up all the sugary drinks from their Halloween bag, make up a batch of lemonade with little to no sugar for them to drink with their chocolate. Lemonade contains vitamin C and is known to help with digestion. Let your children feel like they are getting two treats and you can breathe easy knowing you are keeping them healthy.
What are some other tricks to keeping a healthy mouth during this unhealthy time of year?
Make Your Child A Personalized Halloween Bag
Your child will more than likely want to go trick or treating but can end up with a bag full of dental nightmares. Instead of making Halloween too terrifying, let your little one trick or treat but tell them you made a special Halloween bag for him/her to have at home. When the night is over, sort through the treats to eliminate the harmful stuff and add the best treats to their special bag. Your children will have enjoyed the experience of getting candy from their Halloween door to door venture and knowing their home bag is not full of harmful treats will keep you happy too!
What are some things you can fill their homemade Halloween bag with?
• Pure fruit juice
• Temporary tattoos
• Bottle of bubbles and a blower
What you put in the bag is up to your imagination so think outside of the box and away from just candy.
Make a Meal to Go with The Candy
Instead of just letting your kids devour the entire Halloween candy bag when they get home, make a healthy meal for them to eat before their treats. Why? Eating food before your candy allows time for saliva production to increase so that it washes away sugar build-up. This will help keep those little teeth away from harm.
Trick or Treat…what tips will you take with you?
