Scary Halloween Facts You Need To Know

While growing up, you’ve most likely been told by your parents that candies are not good for your teeth. The truth is, they were right. Not only are they detrimental to your oral environment, it can break your expensive braces and tear your gums. Should we then stop eating candies this Halloween? Perhaps, consider the following and decide for yourselves.

Let's talk about the benefits to eating candy. Firstly, it increases our energy! In chocolates, the main ingredient is cocoa which contains chemicals that act as stimulants in your nervous system. So, if you are writing a long test or going on a hike, it might help to bring around a chocolate bar to get that boost in energy. Secondly, it makes us happier! It elevates our mood from the release of serotonin in our brain. So, when you are feeling down and gloomy, chewing a piece of gum or eating some candies will help to stimulate your mood. Thirdly, it can improve your concentration level! Recent literature reveals that candies can help to improve your attention span, working memory, and cognitive health. Perhaps, when you are studying or working, you can chew on a piece of gum to increase your performance.

Enough about the benefits - let us now delve into the negative consequences to consuming candies. One major disadvantage is that it can induce acne growth. Dealing with acne can be frustrating and an annoyance, so it might be helpful to reduce candy consumption if you are dealing with acne and a special event is coming up. Secondly, it can make your oral environment more acidic leading to the erosion of your enamel and filings. Not only that, acid-loving oral bacteria will thrive in such acidic environment, causing more cavities to form. Lastly, with the build-up of bacteria and acid concentration in your mouth, it can lead to breakage of your expensive dental treatments including crowns, braces, and implants.

Now, have you made up your mind? Are candies worth the several hundreds or thousands of dollars spent on your fillings, braces, and crowns? I hope not!

Instead of spending money on your candies that’ll eventually ruin your teeth, why not donate that money to TorontoTooth, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping low-income Torontonians receive the most basic oral health care products that they do not have access to including toothbrushes and toothpastes. With the few dollars that you donate to our organization, a homeless child, youth, or woman will receive free oral health products.

If you decide to get yourself some candies, however, let me tell you which candies are okay for you to eat on the 31st of October.

Avoid hard candies – that is, if you can. Examples of hard candies include: Werther's Originals, lollipops, and jolly ranchers. You’ll thank yourself for choosing soft candies like chocolate, gummies, and gum that melt away from your teeth over hard candies that may increase the risks of cavities and breakage of dental work.

Just remember, there are many ways you can use your candy money this Halloween (hint: donating to TorontoTooth can save someone’s teeth) – I will leave it up to you to make an informed decision.

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Happy Halloween! 👻