American’s buy an estimated 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween! And if you aren’t careful, all those sugary treats can do scary things to your teeth. The bacteria in your mouth love sugar – they eat sugar and produce acid, which weakens the enamel and causes cavities. But some candies can be a scarier than others. So what is the best and worst candy for your teeth?
Best idea: plain chocolate. Chocolate is the most popular kind of candy at Halloween, which is nice because chocolate makes the “good” list. Plain chocolate washes off your teeth easier than other types of candy. Dark chocolate can be lower in sugar than milk chocolate, but chocolates with sticky or toffee fillings probably won’t wash off the teeth as easily as plain chocolate.
Bad idea: sticky and gummy candies. Gummies are some of the worst candies for your teeth. Gummy, taffy, and fruit chews can really adhere to the teeth, and are generally much harder to remove, sometimes even with brushing. Since they stick to the teeth and stay on longer, the bacteria have more time to work on them and create cavity-friendly conditions.
Bad idea: sour candy. Sour candy has added acids to make them sour, and acidity can weaken enamel and make your teeth more vulnerable to cavities. Sour gummy candy packs a double whammy of sticky and acidic.
Bad idea: hard candy. Be careful with hard candy. Sucking on a hard candy can be bad by exposing your teeth to sugar for a long period of time, bathing your teeth in sugar. Never bite into hard candy- it is too hard to chew and can break your tooth.
At Mall of Georgia Dentistry, we know that trick-or-treating is a big part of the Halloween fun. Candy is an important Halloween tradition, and it’s OK to enjoy some, as long as you’re brushing twice a day and flossing once a day, every day of the year, occasional treats should be OK. Making smarter choices of which candies to eat, and to give out to trick-or-treaters, is a good idea too.
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