Halloween Candy Means a Flood of Sugar on Teeth

Thursday, October 28th, 2021 -- 10:00 AM

(WBAY) -It won’t be long before little ghouls and goblins are knocking on doors across Wisconsin.

That means a lot of Halloween candy destined for their little mouths. It’s the one day every year dental hygienists, like Jenilee Vande Hey, tend to cringe a little bit.

“It’s a fun time for kids and for parents, I have two little kids so I love seeing them in their little outfits, but yeah, it can cause a lot of sugar overload for their teeth. The teeth are in like a constant bath of sugar on that Halloween Day, the kids are just eating it,” says Vande Hey, who serves as the Regional Manager of Hygiene Development with Dental Associates.

Beyond the recommended brushing teeth twice a day and flossing at least once, Vande Hey advises children should add a few reps around Halloween. She says drinking water right after eating candy helps rinse away the sugar, and one of Wisconsin’s famous dairy products can help too.

“Some research shows that cheese can actually help stimulate saliva production similar to what chewing gum would do, so acts in the same way, that extra saliva cleanses the mouth,” explains Vande Hey.

As for the candy you should offer trick-or-treaters or the candy your child should reach for in the bowl? “If I had to tell a parents what’s a good candy their child should have, I would recommend something that’s chocolate,” says Vande Hey. That’s because chocolate melts fast and leaves the mouth quickly unlike a lot of other candy.

“The ones I would say try to avoid are like the gummy, chewy, sticky ones, those ones can get stuck in the teeth, in the grooves, in between them, it’s hard to clean out, also like sour flavored candy, that sour flavoring is actually like an acidic ph, acid breaks down the enamel, so we want to reduce extra acid in the mouth,” says Vande Hey.

Any type of hard candy is another one to avoid. Vande Hey says that’s because you’re sucking on it, which means a lot of sugar in your mouth over an extended period of time.

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