Healthy Habits: Halloween and Oral Health

While Halloween brings loads of fun, it also brings with it a dental nightmare.  After eating a just a handful of candy corn, there is enough residual sugar on your teeth and inside your cheeks to feed an army of bacteria.

Here are some Halloween oral health tips from Dr. Harold Katz.

Worst Treats

Try to avoid or limit these unhealthy snacks: 

• Sticky treats like gummy candies, jelly beans, raisins and caramels are bad for dental health. 
• Full-sized candy bars. Some chocolate bars contain high amounts of saturated fat. The worst offenders are Mounds (11 grams of saturated fat in a two-ounce bar), Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar (nine grams in 1.5 ounces) and Almond Joy (eight grams in 1.7 ounces). 
• Chips Ahoy!, Oreos, Hostess HOHOs and other snack cakes, Keebler Club & Cheddar Sandwich Crackers, and Starburst Fruit Chews were all voted the worst vending machine snacks for kids by Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Anything STICKY is terrible – including Raisins!

1. Seek out healthier alternatives to candy. There are many ideas to consider: 
• Different flavors of popcorn - tie in small cellophane bags with ribbon (for parties only) 
• Individual packages of fruit or applesauce - even pudding is a better alternative than candy. These are usually sold in 4 or six-packs. Just break them up and give an individual pack to each child. 
• Granola (muesli) bars (but watch their sugar content also) 
• Low-sugar, trans fat-free cookies from health food stores. If these are not wrapped individually, wrap large cookies in cellophane and tape together; make little cellophane bundles of smaller cookies (self wrapped bundles for parties only) 
• Bundle little pretzels in cellophane (for parties only) 
• Small apples, mandarins are possible but many parents are wary of fruit due to scares about pins etc. being inserted into them. You could investigate packaged sliced apples in clear wrapping as a compromise. Or make a fruit bowl at home just for your own kids and play games like apple bobbing 
• Nuts ‘n bolts – vary seasoning to suit little palates 
• Instant spiced apple mix or hot chocolate mix 
• Fruit bars - there are many pure fruit bars available now. The thin ones are especially good value and will slip into many treat bags as a filler 
• Individual homemade fruit sweetened cookies (for parties only) 
• If it's a warm night, fruit juice ice treats might be a good choice, especially for a party 
• Plain dark chocolate is better than candy. Make sure it has no cream filling or high sugar content. Some claim chocolate even helps to prevent tooth decay. It has certainly been proven that the antioxidants in dark chocolate are healthy. Purchase small pieces in little packets or package small pieces in cellophane (for parties only). 

1. Sugarless gum 

1. Corn nuts, peanuts, or trail mix 
2. Small individual bags of pretzels or popcorn 
3. Packages of sugar-free cocoa 
4. Individual bags of roasted pumpkin seeds 
5. Pre-packed cheese and crackers 

1. Invest in small games, kits or novelty items instead. Look in dollar stores, party stores, toy stores etc. Buy in bulk if possible and repackage into little treat bags. Look out for small games that are given out as party treats. The possibilities are endless and include: 

• Halloween pencils, pens, erasers 
• Stickers with Halloween themes 
• Magic tricks 
• Joke, puzzle or maze books 
• Plastic or rubber animals or figurines 
• Balloons, party whistles 
• Miniature cars/dolls 
• Comic Books from the quarter-bin at your local comic shop 
• Cards (playing, baseball etc) 
• Miniature jigsaw puzzles 
• Crayons/Coloring Books
• * - Peanuts (individual serving packages)
  * * - Juice boxes (100% juice of course)
  * - Microwave popcorn
  * - Cereal bars
• Trick-or-treating coupons from places like Dunkin' Donuts are always a hit with kids and they give parents control over what their kids eat.

1. Purchase entry coupons for local zoos, water parks, movies etc. If you have a set amount of children at a Halloween party, you might like to consider giving each child an entry coupon instead of candy. Unless you're bankrolling your neighborhood's Halloween though, you won't be able to use this idea for kids who come to the door! 

1. Avoid trick or treating by having a party. Kids can still have all the fun and haunting but serve healthier food like pizza, dips and pita pieces and fresh fruit. Focus on the games more than the food and give good non-food prizes. As an added bonus, you know where the kids are. If it's for older kids, expect a lot of loud and scary sounds, very corny jokes and unexpected ghostly antics. Put breakables away. 
2. Give mini-toothbrush sets. Maybe this sounds corny but it is a healthy reminder to kids getting so much candy that brushing their teeth is really important. If you're lucky, you might find Halloween themed toothbrushes. You will probably have more luck with this idea if you give out a treat or toy in addition to the toothbrush. 
3. Spend your time, energy and money on the decorations as the treat. Turn your front yard or porch into a wonderland that kids will marvel at. Use light and sound to greatest effect. Tell visiting kids that the display is their treat. It had better be good though, or you’ll be in for a trick! This idea can also backfire, as kids usually expect houses decorated for Halloween to give out treats and your big attractive display may have them anticipating a big candy reward. 
4. Work out compromises. Instead of banning sugary snacks altogether, try allowing a limited amount or making rules beforehand about how many treats your kids can have each day. If you're hosting a party, kids may feel deprived if they don't get to go trick-or-treating and you won't give them any candy at all. In addition to healthy treats, fun party games, and spooky decorations, make a small amount of traditional candy available. (It will prbably still be less than they'd get if they actually went out.) Giv each child a goody bag with some small toys, a mix of healthy and sugary treats, and a fun toothbrush. For very young children, see if you can find a small book about brushing your teeth to make the toothbrush seem like a better gift. 
5. Teach your kids to practice moderation. Try not to make too big a deal out of the candy. A little candy is better than a long, sad memory of being totally denied treats at Halloween. Talk sensibly with them about diet, health and good eating habits at all times, not just at Halloween, so that they grow to understand the relationship between eating and body health. Help them to learn that some indulgence on special occasions is okay, as long as they don't consume too much and they accept that treats belong only to very special occasions. Kids are perfect at understanding and your continued support and good example are what they need the most. 

1. When it comes to oral care, make sure they use a fluoride-based mouthwash that does not contain any artificial colors or flavors (such as TheraBreath for Kids Organic Grape), available at Walmart, www.amazon.com, or www.therabreath.com.  Toothpaste should also contain fluoride, but should be free of detergents.  One such brand is TheraBreath available at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, www.amazon.com, and www.therabreath.com

About Dr. Harold Katz

Dr. Harold Katz is widely recognized in the media as the “final authority” on breath. He’s been featured on Fox and Friends, FOX Network’s Mike & Juliet Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, and The View with Barbara Walters and countless other radio and TV interviews.  Dr. Katz is a graduate of the UCLA School of Dentistry and holds a separate degree in Bacteriology, also from UCLA.  He is the founder of The California Breath Clinics, is the author of “The Bad Breath Bible,” and bearer of the now famous Halimeter which tests the sulfur compounds that cause bad breath.