Halloween can be fun for kids, but scary for their teeth. Here are a few tips to keep the cavity monsters at bay, and to enjoy a tooth-friendly Halloween.

• Set a treat amount ahead of time. Before you head out trick-or-treating, talk with your child about treats and set a limit.
• Keep treat bags small. Try trick-or-treating with a small bag to limit the number of sugary treats your child receives.
• Safety first. Always check treats before eating them to make sure they are safe to eat and don’t contain any ingredients your child is allergic to.
• Focus on favourites. Treats are special and to be enjoyed, so help your child focus on their favourites and skip the rest. Chocolate can make for a better choice over chips or sticky, hard or sour candies. Although sugary, chocolate rinses away from teeth more easily. But chips can stick to teeth which can lead to cavities when they breakdown into sugar. Sticky candies can get nestled into the grooves of teeth making it harder to clean and increasing the risk of tooth decay, hard candies can crack or chip a tooth, and the acidic coating on sour candies can affect the outer layer of the teeth.
• Be mindful of braces. Many children wear braces, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy Halloween treats. Avoid nuts, popcorn, tortilla chips, hard candy, caramel or other chewy candies to keep braces safe and intact.
• Meal time, treat time. Enjoy a treat after a meal so your child is less likely to over-indulge. The end of mealtime is also the best time to enjoy sugary treats while there is still plenty of saliva in the mouth. Saliva helps to wash away the sugars and acids that can lead to cavities.
• Drink water. Drinking a glass of water after eating a sugary treat will also help wash away some of the sugars and acids that can lead to cavities.
• Keep up brushing two times a day and flossing. Brushing and flossing are important to remove sugar, dental plaque and to help prevent cavities. Always assist your child in brushing and flossing before going to bed.
• Trade in treats. Trade leftover treats for another activity your child will enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Photo credit: iStock.com/Naddiya