Halloween candies spell trouble for kids’ teeth. What’s the safest sweet to hand out? And how to deal with the bags of candy your kids collect? Read on …
By Dona Suri
Here’s some news you definitely DON’T want to hear … and it’s just in time for Halloween.
California ranks third nationwide when it comes to kids with bad teeth. Within California, Alameda County is worst.
More than 50 percent of California kindergartners have experienced tooth decay, and over 25 percent have untreated tooth decay. Dental problems impact school attendance: children growing up in low-income communities are 12 times more likely to miss school as a result of a dental issue than their peers.
Children’s oral health is suffering partly because the medical and dental care systems are fractured and siloed. Only 48 percent of children and young adults (birth to age 20) insured by Medi-Cal had a dental visit during the 2021 calendar year, as compared to more than 84 percent of children (ages 1 to 19) who had a visit with a physician, according to state data. This highlights two things:
The system fails to recognize the intrinsic and critical connection between oral health and overall health.
An opportunity to screen, educate and refer children to appropriate care is being missed because medical doctors and dentists are not working in collaboration.
According to the the American Academy of Pediatrics, on average, in the first five years of a child’s life, he or she will see a physician at least a minimum of 14 times, but when it comes to seeing a dentist, for all but 13 percent of children under five, the number of visits is zero.
Some counties in California are trying to improve this picture. Sacramento County Public Health’s Dental Transformation Initiative program, Every Smile Counts!, is trying out a program that gives medical providers the tools they need to make a robust referral to a child’s assigned dentist, and taking the onus off of the physician by integrating a dental hygienist into the medical team. Based on a model in Colorado, the hygienist is placed within the physician’s office to serve as an oral health resource to the children, their families and the rest of the medical team, while also providing oral health education, preventive services and serving as a liaison to the dentist. The program was started early this year and an assessment is awaited.
Let’s hope the pilot program does well enough to be implemented all over California.
But meanwhile, Halloween looms. All the kids have their costumes ready and their trick-or-treat routes mapped out. Your little monsters will be ringing the neighbor’s doorbells, and their little monsters will be ringing yours. Dentally speaking, what’s the safest sweet to hand out? And what strategy should you adopt to deal with the bags of candy your kids collect?
The best thing to hand out is apples. When you eat an apple, you are actually removing plaque from your teeth and gums. Eating an apple promotes saliva production. Saliva helps to remineralize your teeth, strengthening the enamel which defend teeth from decay. And of course, apples contain essential vitamins and antioxidants.
Oranges are good too and so are carrots, cucumbers and celery … although handing out the last three “treats” is going to give you a very bad reputation with the kids.
The next best thing is chocolate. This is because chocolate doesn’t stick to the teeth for a long time. It quickly melts in the mouth and is easy to brush off. Chocolate with caramel is not so good – it’s sticky. Choose dark chocolate … it’s actually good for us.
The bad stuff – based on the amount of time the confection sticks to the teeth, remains in the mouth, and/or the amount of acid in it – falls in six categories. Here’s the list of sweets to avoid:
Taffy, and candies like taffy
Caramels
Gummies
Lollipops
Sour balls
Juice and soft drink packets
Raisins are not recommended because the sticky texture of the raisins causes the sugar to stick to the teeth in the same way as candy.
By the end of the evening, you are going to need a Candy Policy. You’ve heard that old expression “easy as taking candy from a baby” ? As every parent knows, prying candy out of little hands is no treat. It is a very tricky business.
Your best bet is to give your kids their choice of a strictly limited number of candies and then just straight out, unapologetically confiscate the candy bags. Keep the bags out of sight and out of reach. When November 1 rolls around, after dinner you can allow another selection – a few pieces only.
Halloween is a good time to teach the pleasures of sharing. Spread out the sugar among friends and family. Or hand the excess over to organizations that accept candy donations — for a good cause! Here are four of them:
- Treats for Troops
Run by Soldier’s Angels, this program allows you to send sweets to military service members. Kids can earn buyback prizes, and you can get a tax deductible receipt for your donation.
Find out more at https://soldiersangels.org/volunteer/special-campaigns/treats-for-troops/2. Halloween Candy Buy Back
This group partners with businesses such as dentists offices to get extra candy out of the hands of your little ones in exchange for healthy items such as toothbrushes, hygiene kits and coupons. Find out more at
https://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/ This site will help you to find locations in your area.3. Operation Shoebox
This organization is ready to receive your candy donations — they distribute candy on Halloween, Christmas and Easter to troops that are missing the festivities while away from home regardless of where they are stationed. Any candy donations can be sent to
Operation Shoebox
8360 East Highway 25,
Belleview, FL 34420.4. Ronald McDonald House Charities
Call your local chapter to find out rules on bringing your unopened Halloween candy for severely sick children and their families to enjoy. While your kids are out trick-or-treating, these families will appreciate the taste of the holiday being delivered to them while they are in need.
You can also check with your local food pantry, homeless shelter or nursing home. These places might welcome some Halloween candy.