Now is the time that your kids are probably making their way through the rest of their Halloween candy. This can be tough on their teeth, with certain selections representing more of a risk than other. Candy like smarties and york patties, for example, are easy for your saliva to clear away after you eat them. Even near-pure sugar, like pixie sticks, are favorable over anything that exposes your mouth to sugar for an extended period of time.
Hard and sticky candies are the ones to most look out for. Caramels, starbursts, tootsie rolls, and dits get stuck in your teeth long after you’re done chewing. Hard candies designed to be sucked, like lollipops, jolly ranchers, and jawbreakers, have a similar problem. One of the worst choices for your teeth is the now and later, a particularly hard chewable that exposes you to a lot of sugar while you strain your bicuspids to break it down.
It is best to eat candy following a meal, when your saliva is already hard at work. Consider rinsing out with water afterward, but don’t brush for at least thirty minutes. Consult our Federal Way dentistry clinic to learn more.
