4 Candies That Are Scary Bad for Your Teeth This Halloween
Halloween is almost here! Time to start planning your Halloween costume and choosing the optimal trick-or-treat route. With the perfect costume and route planned, this is sure to be the best Halloween yet.
Bad news though, not everyone is excited for Halloween. In fact, some of your very close friends who play an important role in your everyday life and overall health are flat out scared. Your teeth! Your beautiful and well cared for teeth are dreading the 31st. They know that sugary, sticky, and sour candy is headed their way and hope that you will choose to help keep them safe.
This Halloween, it’s more important than ever to remember the damage that all the delicious candy can cause to your teeth. While small amounts of candy here and there followed by a thorough brushing is okay, the scary truth about Halloween is that eating candy in excess can cause serious long-term damage for your oral health. To help keep your teeth healthy this Halloween, we’ve highlighted 4 of the worst candies for your teeth that you should avoid on the 31st.
4. Skittles
If you’re guilty of binging on a delicious bag of Skittles from time to time, you’re not alone. Almost everyone has. And who could blame you? Skittles capture the perfect combination of sweet and sour and offer a great variety of flavors! Unfortunately, Skittles have a pH level of 2.5, which can cause serious damage to your enamel. Protect your enamel this Halloween by steering clear of this sour candy!
3. Twix
Some of the worst candies for your teeth are the ones that are both sugary and sticky, which is exactly what we all love about Twix. The sweet chocolate covered wafer, with the perfect ribbon of caramel is a classic cure for any sweet tooth. Sadly, it’s one of the worst ones out there for your teeth. Avoid these dangerously sticky cookie bars this Halloween and your teeth will thank you.
2. Swedish Fish
With one of the highest sugar-to-calorie ratios out there, Swedish Fish present a huge risk for your teeth. Not to mention, the gummy candies love to stick to the sides of your teeth and gums and stay there until they cause more damage. Keep your teeth safe this Halloween and stay away from Swedish Fish at all costs.
1. Jolly Rancher
As one of the more addictive candies out there, Jolly Ranchers are always a crowd favorite when Halloween rolls around. However, a Jolly Rancher can pack an unexpected punch to your teeth when you go to bite down. A Jolly Rancher is one of the hardest candies available, which puts your teeth at high risk for chipping and breaking. No one wants to spend the day after Halloween waiting in the dentist’s office to have a broken tooth fixed. Additionally, sucking on hard candy for extended periods of time coats your teeth in sugar and makes them much more vulnerable to cavities and decay. Keep your teeth healthy and avoid Jolly Ranchers altogether this year.
It’s easy to forget about your oral health when there’s an abundance of candy around. But this Halloween, pay close attention to the candy you’re eating and the impact it can have on your teeth, gums, and overall oral health. Remember that sticky, sugary, and chewy candy can have serious, long-term effects on your oral health. Now, is that really worth a sugar rush on Halloween night?
If you don’t want to skip out on trick-or-treating altogether, consider donating your leftover Halloween candy to our Candy Buy Back between November 3 and November 6th. The Halloween Candy Buy Back is a national program sponsored by Operation Gratitude. They collect candy, letters, and toiletries and mail them in the form of care packages to US Troops serving overseas.
If you find yourself with a toothache or pain in the days following Halloween, make sure to contact your local dentist for a dental appointment to get make sure your smile is as healthy as can be.
10 Comments
Julia Carlson
I’ll have to make sure my kids don’t eat too much of those candies this year for Halloween. I usually let them eat whatever they want, but after reading this article, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I want my kids’ teeth to stay healthy and strong, so I’m going to limit their candy this year. That will be less pain for them, and less medical bills for me. http://www.drtoddjohnson.com/johnson-dental.html
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[…] is the first step to keeping your teeth strong. Try to eat foods low in sugar and avoid foods and candies that stick to your teeth. Choose drinks such as water, milk, and unsweetened tea instead of soft […]
Mia Boyd
Thanks for the tips. I had no idea that these candies are so bad for your teeth. That’s definitely a pity, because I love all of those candies, especially Twix! I’m definitely going to steer clear of these candies. I’m also going to ask my dentist about other candies. I wouldn’t want to eat any that are especially bad! http://www.goaccessdental.com
Delores Lyon
I had no idea that there are so many different types of candies that could damage your teeth that badly. I always figured Jolly Ranchers could be bad, especially when they stick between teeth, but I didn’t know Skittles could also be bad. I will make sure my kids’ bad candy consumption is limited from now on. http://www.arthurstreetdental.ca/index.php?page=services
Deanna R. Jones
I usually have a difficult time keeping my kid’s teeth healthy when Halloween rolls around. I usually have to pay for dental work after they’ve eaten so much candy. It seems like it would be difficult to stop them from eating any candy, so it seems like it would be more possible to keep them away from certain candies that do the worst damage to their teeth. It doesn’t surprise me that hard candies and gummy candies do the worst damage to their teeth. I’ll try to keep them away from hard and gummy candies this year so that they can have healthy teeth.
http://www.bordenfamilydentistry.com/
Quin Trent
That is very unfortunate that these four candies are the worst for your teeth, especially when they are my favorite ones. At least these family dentists are informing people of these issues and what it is that this candy is doing to your teeth. Just wish that they were not my favorite types of candy though.
http://www.carpenterdental.com/our-practice/
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[…] with regular brushing and flossing, in addition to monitoring their children’s dental habits. Keeping sugary drinks, candies, and foods to a minimum also stops decay and plaque […]
Laila
I am a pretty big fan of Swedish fish and I had no idea that they are so high in sugar. I will have to cut back to make sure that I or my kids don’t get any cavities. They love them just as much as I do which is sort of the problem. It may be the reason why a few of them have had cavities on the last few dental visits.
Irena Ryans
Thanks for the information. I had no idea that candies like skittles could be so bad for teeth. Are there other candies I should be aware of? My children are so excited for Halloween, but I want to know that their teeth will be able to withstand all of that sugar. I’m going to follow your tip about making sure they brush their teeth very meticulously after they eat. I’ll also ask my dentist if he has any other tips.
Nick Mallory
What, Swedish fish are bad? Oh no! Well I’m glad that you pointed out the worst offenders that we find from candy. My wife has genetically poor teeth, so we’re vigilant about keeping our kid’s diet healthy and limited in the sugar. We’ll watch out for these this upcoming Halloween.