The Safest Candy for Your Child’s Teeth
Halloween season is upon us, and your children are sure to be coming home with tasty treats from school or anyplace else. While we all know that candy can be bad for teeth, there are still ways to enjoy the holiday without any unwanted visits to our office. To help answer questions, we put together this guide to the safest candies for your child’s teeth, as well as the ones to avoid.
Candies for Your Child to Avoid
Sour Candy: A common favorite among kids, sour candies are unfortunate in that they are the most dangerous for your child’s teeth. Not only are they coated in sugar, but the high acidic content within the candy itself is also bad. Sugar is known to linger and cause problems such as cavities, but the acidic content breaks down tooth enamel and leaves teeth prone to tooth decay. If you choose to let your child indulge, make sure they brush 30 minutes after their last piece. If you brush too soon, they will be pushing the chemicals into their teeth.
Hard Candy: Although not coated in sugar like sour candy, hard candy is meant to linger in your mouth which increases the exposure to the sugar and other ingredients. Your saliva fills with sugar as you suck on the candy too, which coats your teeth with sugar as you are consuming it. Because the length of sugar exposure is connected to dental health, hard candy should be avoided.
Sticky Candy: Sticky candy is one of the biggest ones to avoid. Tiny pieces of the candy get stuck in the crevices of your child’s teeth and can stay there for long periods of time. This allows for tooth decay at an even faster rate. The high sugar content is also worth noting, making it equally as bad as any others on this list. As we said before, the length of exposure to sugar is linked to cavities, so sticky candy should be avoided.
The Safest Candy for Your Child’s Teeth
Chocolate: Chocolate is considered the safest overall candy for your child’s teeth. This is fortunate because it is also the most popular, even if it’s messier than the others on the list. But why is it better? Because it washes off teeth the easiest and doesn’t stick in difficult places. Not only that, but dark chocolate has even less sugar, while some studies suggest that dark chocolate contains compounds that might even strengthen enamel.
Candy with Nuts: Candy and its sugar is known to stick to teeth. The nuts, however, can break up the stickiness and help decrease the chances of your child getting any cavities. Crunching is also known to break up plaque. This goes without even mentioning the nutritional benefits of some nuts found in candies. They should only be avoided if your child is wearing braces.
Sugar Free Candy: While it may seem obvious, sugar free candy is a great option for your child if you find it in their candy bucket. Even if they have a few pieces among others, it lessens their chances of a cavity due to not having as much sugar in the mouth. Another bonus is that some of these stimulate saliva production and can help the mouth wash itself off any lingering bacteria or plaque.
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