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Happy Halloween

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This post was contributed by Bridget Fay, MFD Office Manager

Every kid gets excited about Halloween candy but it becomes a bone of contention with parents. Candy wrappers are everywhere, chocolate gets on clothes, and there is a struggle to keep kids from thinking that caramel is an acceptable food group. We’ve got some tips on how to keep the candy landslide from ruining your life and keep sugar bugs (cavities) at bay.

The first thing you can do is bring the candy to our office the week after Halloween! We are “buying back” your child’s candy for $2 a pound (up to five pounds) and will send it to troops overseas through a program called Operation Gratitude. Call ahead of time to verify our hours and then come on over to rid your household of the sugar and make cash instead!

In order to prevent your children from staying up for two days straight on a sugar rush, see if you can find a hiding place to store the candy and slowly ration it out over a few weeks time. Just make sure when you are handing it out it’s not right before bedtime and it’s not after nighttime brushing. All that sugar will stick to teeth until the next time they brush or eat something. Though we love to see our patients on a regular basis, we would hate to find new cavities at your next visit.

When it comes to brushing and flossing, you might not want to leave it up to your child to brush for the recommended two minutes, daily flossing, or make sure the brush gets to the gum line. We often see most “fuzzy” plaque along the gum line where it releases bacteria into the soft tissue of the gums. We highly recommend monitoring brushing and flossing routines or at least doing your own exam to make sure they got everything. Four minutes each day is not a lot of time! If you find flossing isn’t happening at all, have floss handy where children are most likely to sit still, like in front of the TV or in the car.

As far as teeth and mouths go, we want to help make the candy season as stress-free as possible. Call the office if you have any questions!