The Worst Halloween Candy for Your Teeth

The holidays are coming up, which means plenty of opportunities to eat Halloween candy. There is nothing wrong with eating Halloween candy, especially once in a while.

However, if you continuously eat Halloween candy without brushing your teeth or taking care of your dental habits, this can lead to a lot of problems including cavities that turn into root canals. Nobody wants to have cavities; they are painful and uncomfortable. Root canals are even worse since they are so expensive to repair.

What Does Sugar Do to Your Teeth?

Before we can understand the worst Halloween candy for your teeth and the best, we should know what sugar does to your teeth. Did you know, before the use of commercialized sugar, there was a lack of dental problems? Sugar can lead to awful effects on your teeth because it strips and breaks down.

Sugar is delicious but comes with a lot of problems. If sugar gets between your teeth or on top of your teeth and does not get washed away, it turns into plaque and increases bacteria which leads to cavities.

The Worst Halloween Candy for Dental Health

There are a lot of popular Halloween candy choices during the holidays and you do not have to avoid all of them. But there are some Halloween candies that are worse for your dental health. If you would like to look into which ones to avoid, look at the list below:

• Chocolate
• Pixy Stix
• Cotton candy
• Caramel
• Marshmallow
• Sprinkles

You may have noticed a trend amongst the worst Halloween candy for dental health. The worst Halloween candies are loaded in sugars and coat your teeth with dyes and other additives. Thankfully there are sugar candy alternatives that can help you prevent cavities while also still enjoying the holiday.

Sugary Candy Alternatives

Sugar free candy alternatives are everywhere. Your favorite candies likely have a sugar-free alternative in stores. For example, there are sugar-free chocolates that use a mild or natural sweetener. If you want to avoid gaining cavities especially during Halloween, you should also look into candy alternatives.

How to Prevent Cavities

Keep in mind that not eating Halloween candy helps prevent cavities, but there are many other things that you should do for cavity prevention. You should floss your teeth at least twice daily. It is not enough just to use the piece of floss to get in between your teeth.

You should get in between your teeth as well as inside of your gums as food can also get trapped inside your gums. Some people prefer using mouthwash instead of toothpaste, but it does not do the best job of cleaning. If you want to clean your teeth as best as possible, brush your teeth first thing in the morning.

A common problem that will actually lead to the quick development of cavities is when people brush their teeth immediately after eating. Instead of swishing away all the sugar and food from your teeth, you are rotating the sugar around your teeth which will eat away at the protection.

When It Comes to Halloween Candy, Enjoy Sparingly

All in all, you should always practice preventative dental health care no matter what time of the year it is. However, it is more common during Halloween for children to receive candy as well as other sweets. Adults can also still develop cavities into their adulthood especially if they are not taking care of their teeth.

Children develop cavities quickly because they consume a lot of sugar and their baby teeth are not as strong as adult teeth. Remember you can always enjoy your Halloween candy during the holidays, but be sure to limit how much you eat.

If you have any questions about Halloween candy that’s bad for your teeth, or are ready to schedule your next dental exam, give our dentists in St. John (219) 462-1970 or Valparaiso (219) 322-9920 a call.