How bad is candy for your teeth?
Halloween is right around the corner and that means lots of candy.
Many people assume that sugar itself is bad for your teeth. That’s not totally true. What’s actually happening is that sugary foods, such as Halloween candy, provide fuel and sustenance for certain strains of bacteria. When presented with sugar to eat, these bacteria feast and multiply rapidly and, in the process, create acid as a waste byproduct. It’s this acidic waste that is responsible for damaging and destroying dental enamel and, if left unattended, will eventually result in cavities.
As a result, there’s probably no treat worse for a child’s teeth than conventional candies. They provide a bonanza of fuel for sugar-loving bacteria to grow and proliferate on dental surfaces. Sticky and chewy sweets adhere to enamel surfaces and provide rocket fuel for acid-spewing microbes.
Meanwhile, hard candies not only provide sugar for bacterial growth, but they can also wear down or even crack dental enamel.
Rate Your Favorite Candy
Another concern is the rate at which kids will eat candy during Halloween season. Under normal circumstances, parents exert control over their children’s intake of sugars and will only allow their kids to have candy once in a while. However, during Halloween, all bets are off.
Kids will be consuming candy.
The good news is there is a growing market of good tasting, healthy candy. A good example is Alina Morse, a 13-year-old teenager who asked her father the million dollar question: "Why can't we make a healthy lollipop that's good for my teeth so that I can have candy, and it wouldn't be bad for me?"
Well, Alina took on that project herself. After two years of researching and talking with her dentist and dental hygienist, Alina began developing products. Today, Alina is on September's cover of Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the Youngest Millionaire's due to her startup ZolliPops. ZolliPops is a lollipop that's good for your teeth.
5 Best Tasting & Healthy Candy
Zaffi Taffy is a delicious, natural way to cleaner teeth and a healthy smile. Supercharged with Xylitol and Erythritol, this sugar-free taffy candy is a good-for-you treat that helps keep your teeth fresh and healthy.
Zolli Pops are sugar-free, non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, organic, kosher and mom approved! Each pack comes in a convenient re-sealable pouch. Known as The After You Eat Treat, enjoy one after every meal, up to three per day, for a cleaner, healthier smile. It's the smart, yummy treat for your teeth.
Here's another good story.
Once upon a time, there were two kids whose parents really didn't want them eating their favorite chocolates.
Not much of a story there, but it made these brothers dream: could they remake their favorites without the bad stuff?
A thousand recipes later (for real), they cracked the code to make some of the best tasting chocolate snacks ever.
Stop your cravings for Reeses, Snickers, and Hershey's in their tracks and update your snack game with Fear Not! These favorites are silky, creamy and completely milk free, nut free, gluten free, and wheat free, but taste just like the peanut and milk-filled treats for which you have been pining.
Their motto is: "Kick Sugar, Keep Halloween."
Here's their #KICKSUGAR MOVEMENT:
"We love candy too. But we don't love all the sugar, weird artificial colors, and high calories in traditional sweets.
Our pinky swear to you is no added sugar, no sugar alcohols and no artificial sweeteners.
You deserve to feel GOOD about candy."
5 Most Dangerous & Unhealthy Candy To Avoid
Chewy Candy
Chewy candy is the worst from the perspective of a dental health professional. Not only does it provide zero nutritional value, it actually causes immense harm to young teeth. That’s because it tends to get stuck on a child’s teeth and in the nooks and crannies of their mouths. If you look at your molars, you will see many pits and grooves. Chewy candy tends to get stuck in those pits and grooves for long periods of time, fueling bacteria growth and allowing it to do immense damage to the dental enamel.
Included under bad, chew candies is bubble gum, gummies, marshmallows, and other common squishy treats.
Hard Candy
While hard candy doesn't get stuck on a child’s teeth, it does tend to stay in the mouth longer, thereby exposing dental surfaces to sugar and subsequent bacterial proliferation over a longer period of time.
Furthermore, hard candy is a common cause of dental trauma in the form of chipped, cracked, or fractured teeth.
Sour Candy
Sour candy is uniquely bad for dental enamel. Most sour candies contain tiny crystals of tartaric acid and citric acid. While delightfully sour, these acidic crystals not only leach minerals out of teeth through acid erosion, they also grind down the enamel.
Chocolate
Chocolate melts in the mouth creating a rich, sweet experience roundly enjoyed by adults and children alike. Unfortunately, coating teeth in a sugar-rich concoction of acidic cocoa powder is not great for teeth.
Lollipops
Lollipops may be one of the worst kinds of candy for a child's teeth. Like hard candy, lollipops tend to stay in the mouth for a longer time, which increases the length of time teeth are exposed to both sugar and staining food dyes. Also like other hard candy, impatient children may bite down on them and break or damage their teeth.
DR. KAMRAN HAGHIGHAT
B.D.S., M.S., P.C.
Diplomate, American Board of Periodontology
Diplomate, American Board of Oral Implantology
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