Halloween is one of the best holidays of the year – not only can you indulge in unlimited candy, but you can dress up, watch scary movies and have a lot of fun!

With Halloween right around the corner, most children are preparing for duffel bags full of candy and easy access to all sorts of sweet treats (the average person eats 3.4 pounds of candy near Halloween!). With the holiday season approaching right after, our children (and ourselves) will be faced with an overabundance of sugary and starchy treats and sweets.

When we indulge on candy – the sugar combines with the bacteria in the plaque that exists on our gums and teeth. This combination produces an acid that triggers the tooth decay process.

There are precautions you can take to ease your mind about your children’s oral health during this sugar-coated holiday.

Drink more water to flush the mouth of sugars and acids

• This helps to remove and wash away food particles and debris.

Eat candy with your meals

• Try to eat sugary foods with meals or shortly thereafter. Saliva production increases during meals and helps rinse away food debris and acids produced by bacteria.

Avoid sticky situations

• Avoid hard candies
• Avoid chewy / sticky / gummy candies

These candies are much higher in sugar, and therefore stick to the teeth for much longer. It’s also much more difficult for saliva to break down these sweets. This includes hard candies, toffees and caramels, gummy bears, sour candy and jawbreakers.

The best candies are sugar free lollipops, sugar free gums, chocolate and peanut butter cups.

If the candy is lasting too long – try doing a candy swap with your kids! Trade them – their candy for stickers, or an outing to somewhere that they like.