5 Candy Alternatives That Will Keep Trick-or-Treaters Smiling

Treat Trick-or-Treaters to a Healthy Treat This Season

The fall season brings an amazing amount of fun activities for you and your family. From the excitement of Halloween, to school fall festivals, kids and parents alike look forward to the cool weather and family memories. Unfortunately, Halloween and fall festivals can also do a number on your child’s teeth. Hard candies, sweet treats and sugary snacks can be cavities waiting to happen. Handing out Halloween candy doesn’t mean you have to hand out oral health disasters. There are a number of healthy alternatives to the candy bars and licorice- some that trick-or-treaters might even enjoy more than the sugar rush. The days of handing out apple slices and pennies to avoid contributing to tooth destruction are gone! Take a look at some of these creative trick-or-treat alternatives that will leave all the little ghosts and ghouls smiling throughout the year.

Applesauce Pouches                                                                                     

Applesauce is still a sweet treat, and not nearly as hard on the teeth. Not only that, they’re portable, affordable and a great way to avoid the mess of some other treats. You can get a pack of 48 pouches for about 35 dollars on Amazon, which is enough to give all the trick-or-treaters something healthy to smile about.

Mini LaraBars

Larabars are gluten free, vegan, kosher and only have about 8-11 grams of sugar per bar. They also come in mini form, making them perfect to hand out on Halloween. The great thing about these treats is that the kids won’t even know they’re healthy! LaraBars have flavors such as cherry pie, apple pie and cashew cookie and are just as delicious as the other mini candy bars that will be weighing down their bag. If you can’t find LaraBars, or they’re a little too pricey for you, granola bars of any kind will be a better choice than chocolate.

Vegan Rice Crispy Treats

Rice crispy treats are a delicious sweet treat for trick-or-treaters, but you don’t have to use all the sugary marshmallow to make them amazing. There are a number of recipes you can follow which swap out a few classic ingredients for something a little healthier in order to create the perfect Halloween snack. By using brown rice syrup instead of marshmallow, brown rice crisps instead of white rice and coconut oil instead of butter- you can make delicious, healthy treats that many claim are better than the original. Check out one the recipes here. 

Sugar Free Gum

While sugar free gum may not be the most exciting item in your child’s bag, it’s still a quality alternative to all the junk they’ll be getting. You can get tasty sugar free gum such as Dubble Bubble and throw a few pieces in along with other healthy treats. Parents will appreciate the lack of sugar, and the kids (especially those kids who love their chewing gum) will be happy with a full bag of “candy.”

Toys

If you want to skip the food items altogether, many parents have opted to hand out toys instead. There are a number of items you can get in bulk for cheap such as pencils, erasers, stickers, mini water guns, temporary tattoos, mini play dough, sidewalk chalk, bouncing balls, bubbles and more. The possibilities are endless and none of these things will land your child in the dentist’s chair. If you’re thinking of skipping the candy and handing out toys, head to your local dollar store to find amazing deals on bulk items.

There’s also the option of handing out pre-made veggie and fruit snacks, however this may only be a good idea if you’re close with the surrounding neighbors. Parents are often a little leery of pre-prepared snacks and the time and money you spent might simply end up in the trash. These days there really are dozens of candy alternatives that don’t skimp on the flavor. Do your own research to find what works best for you and your family, have fun with it, and get everyone involved. Keep in mind that most trick-or-treaters will be over-flowing with the sugary stuff- so its good practice as a parent and oral health advocate to provide something that will keep their smiles healthy throughout the year.

Dr. Steven Goldy & Associates

416 N. Bedford Drive Ste 409
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Phone: 310-550-1511

Halloween Candy: Frequency, Not Amount, Raises Cavity Risk

Halloween can present a very scary time of year for any parent concerned about their child's oral health, since your kids will probably come home with that big haul of candy from trick or treating. But should you let them immediately gorge themselves on the candy and get it out of their system?

Risk of Cavities

Temple University pediatric dentist Mark Helpin thinks that might not be such a bad idea. "The frequency of eating candy, and other refined carbohydrates, and their stickiness, are big factors in creating the risk of caries (cavities)," he said. 

Eating carbohydrates can change the pH balance of the mouth, making it more acidic, which can increase the risk of cavities. Each time candy is eaten, the acid environment in the mouth can take up to an hour to dissipate. "If I eat a piece of candy now, the pH in my mouth will become acidic, and it will take 30-60 minutes for it to become normal," said Helpin. "If I eat 2 or 3 pieces of candy when I eat that first one, my mouth stays acid the same length of time that it would if I ate just that single piece. It's still 30-60 minutes. If I keep eating candy throughout the day, there is acid in my mouth for a much longer period of time. The longer teeth are in an acid environment, the greater the risk they will become decayed."

Helpin, the acting chair of pediatric dentistry at Temple's Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, says that there are a number of ways parents can minimize this risk while still letting their children enjoy the holiday.

"Parents can let kids eat a bunch [of candy] now and a bunch later. But don't let them have one piece now, then an hour later let them have another piece," he said, adding that candy can also be dispensed as a dessert or snack.

Preventive 

Meals are a good time at which to have treats as dessert because the production of saliva increases, which helps to wash away acidity in the mouth. Helpin also recommends that parents have their children brush their teeth after eating candy, or if that's not possible, tell their children to rinse their mouth with water three or four times after eating, which will help reduce acidity in the mouth.

Helpin warns that substituting small bags of chips or pretzels for candy doesn't solve the cavity problem, either. "Chips and pretzels are also carbohydrates and they also will create an acid environment that can create cavities," he says. "These treats and snacks get stuck on your teeth, and that's the stickiness factor," he said.

When trick-or-treaters come to his door, Helpin likes to give out sugar-free candies, and avoids the sticky, gummy candies, which stick to the teeth promote cavities because they allow bacteria "to feed" for a longer time. Ultimately, "it's not realistic to think you can tell your child you can't have candy, cookies, cakes, or other treats," says Helpin. "Those are the things most people enjoy -- and we want our kids to enjoy life."

Steven Goldy, DDS

Creating Confident Smiles

416 N. Bedford drive, suite 409

Beverly Hills, CA  90210

310-550-1511

www.stevengoldydds.com