Your dentist, Dr. Nieku Manshadi, and our dental team care about you and your smile, which is why we encourage you to think about your smile as Halloween approaches.

Halloween can be a scary holiday for your teeth and gums, but it doesn’t have to be. If you take good care of your smile, your oral health will remain in tip-top shape. One way you can care for your smile is by choosing the better treats that are healthier for your teeth while you trick or treat. However, that might be a difficult task if you’re not sure which treats are good and bad for you. So, to help you, our Hill Country Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics team has provided the following lists:

Good Candies

-Sugar-free candy and gum: Sugar-free treats are the best Halloween treats available because they don’t contain sugar. Sugar is a harmful substance that feeds on the bacteria in the mouth and promotes tooth decay. Sugar-free treats also usually contain xylitol, which is a substance that can protect the teeth and reduce the acids in the mouth.

-Powdery candy: It might be surprising, but powdery candy is one of the better treats available. This is because the candy dissolves quickly and it doesn’t stick to the teeth.

-Chocolate: Chocolate doesn’t usually stay in the mouth for a long period of time, which is why it’s one of the better treats to eat. It dissolves quickly and it can be eaten easily, which decreases the amount of time the sugar stays in contact with the teeth. However, chocolate with fillings, like caramel and nuts, is more dangerous for the smile.

Bad Candies

-Hard candy: Hard candy is dangerous for the smile because it tends to be sucked on at a leisurely pace, which means the candy is in your mouth for an extended period of time. Also, chomping down on hard candy has the potential to chip or crack a tooth.

-Chewy or sticky candy: Chewy or sticky candy, like caramel or gummies, are very high in sugar and they tend to stick to the teeth for a long period of time. This is very bad and can promote cavities. These types of treats are also difficult for saliva to break down.

If you only eat the best treats for your smile and you keep up on oral hygiene, you will be on the right track toward having a smile-healthy Halloween in Bee Cave, Texas! For more information and details, please call our office today at 254.655.6554. We look forward to helping you!