Halloween Candies: Best and Worst!

Halloween decorations are popping up early in stores and homes across the area.

By Shadi Absi

Subsequently, stores are displaying Halloween candies in prominent locations in the hopes to lure customers into buying early, consuming and buying again.

Here is a list of the best and worst candies to buy this year, hoping it will help alter habits and save teeth, in kids and adults alike.

Best Halloween Candies for Teeth

• Hard candies:  Simulates saliva (which in turn prevents dryness in the mouth).
• Sugar-free lollipops: It stimulates saliva and flushes away bacteria from your teeth.
  
• Sugar-free gum: Not only increases saliva in the mouth but it dislodges food particles.
• Dark chocolate: Full of antioxidants, good for the heart and the brain. What’s not to like? (Make sure you get pure chocolate with no fillings inside).
• Peanut butter cups: It disappears fast in the mouth and melts quickly.

Worst Halloween Candies for Teeth

• Sour candies: Highly acidic which in turn helps break down tooth enamel quickly (it is recommended that you wait 30 minutes to brush teeth after consuming acidic candies).
• Sticky and chewy Sweets: Sweets such as Taffy, gummy bears and candies filled with caramel, coconut, nuts will stick inside your mouth and in the grooves of your teeth resulting in longer time for bacteria to feed on it.
• Jawbreakers: In some instances can break a tooth or dislodge a filling.
• Sugary snacks: Such as candy corn, cookies, and cake, not only they can cause tooth decay, but they also  contain high amounts of sugar.

Let’s enjoy sweets this Halloween but also be smart about it.