A Sensible Guide to Navigating Halloween

It’s enough to send shivers down the spine of health and dental workers around the country.  Halloween.  The kids love it (of course – dress ups and treats!) but us, not so much.  It would be great if we could just avoid the lure of all that sugar altogether, but as the popularity of Halloween in Australia increases, this may not be realistic.  So here’s a few tips on how we can allow our kids to have their fun while maintaining some peace of mind around their health.

1. Work with your kids to agree on a limit on the amount of sugary treats ahead of time, allowing them to contribute to the decision making process. Any surplus could be gifted to a neighbour, teacher or relative.

2.       Sugary treats should be eaten at meal time or in one sitting rather than grazing throughout the course of the day or days.  Constant grazing provides an ongoing acidic environment in which decay causing bacteria thrive as the pH of the saliva does not have the opportunity to neutralise.

3.       Chocolate is better for the teeth than lollies as it is less sticky and tends to dissolve in the mouth.  Australian Dental Association representatives note that ‘dark chocolate is better than milk as the sugar content is slightly lower; the dark variety also contains polyphenols which fight oral bacteria and neutralize organisms that cause bad breath, flavonoids which slow tooth decay and antioxidants which help fight gum disease.’ Check out the ADA’s advice on navigating Halloween here.

4.       Always rinse with water after eating sugary treats, and don’t forget to brush twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste, along with daily flossing.

5.       A handy addition to the Halloween haul is sugar free gum, which helps to neutralise saliva pH.  Perhaps you could consider it your civic duty to give this out to trick or treaters that knock on your door this Halloween, rather than sugar laden sweets!