Best and worst Halloween candy from a dentist's perspective

Dentist Joe Vuthiganon has a bit of a sweet tooth. “I keep a candy dish in my office. And the last two weeks of October, I go to Sam’s Club and buy a whole cauldron of candy.”

It’s not all for him. He shares with colleagues and students in the College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. But who better to dish on the best and worst candy this Halloween season than a dentist who loves Sour Patch Kids? “I always tell people you can eat sugar as long as you consume it responsibly.”

Best candy for your teeth this Halloween? “Chocolate. It doesn’t stick around on your teeth. And there are some health benefits associated with dark chocolate. It also typically has less sugar than milk chocolate.”

Here’s why that’s important. “The sugar in candy feeds bacteria in your mouth, and the bacteria release an acidic waste product. That damages the enamel of your teeth, leading to cavities.”

Sugar-free gum and candy that contain xylitol are good alternatives to sugary candy, he says, since bacteria can’t use xylitol as a food source. But the sweetener isn’t perfect, either — it can cause digestive problems in some people and is toxic to dogs.

The worst candy for your teeth, if you’re not vigilant about brushing and flossing? “The ones that stick around on teeth like gummies, caramels and things like lollipops, because people suck on lollipops for an extended period of time. I think the very worst candy, and it’s also one of my personal favorites, may be Sour Patch Kids. It’s sticky, it’s sugary and it’s sour, so it’s already creating an acidic environment in the mouth.”

Hard candy can also cause problems. “Those can be bad because you’ll be sucking on them for a while, like Gobstoppers, and if a person is tempted to bite down on it that could fracture a tooth if a tooth is weakened. You’re putting a lot of mechanical stress on the tooth.”

Vuthiganon says the best way to eat candy is the way most kids want to do it on Halloween night: in a quick burst. 

“You don’t want to prolong exposure to it or eat it periodically throughout the day. Putting the Halloween candy by your desk and eating one candy every hour, that’s one of the worst things you can do.  Just keep in mind what you’re doing when you eat candy. Ideally, after you eat it, you should brush for two minutes and floss. Or at least swish with water or chew some sugarless gum to help neutralize the acidic environment in your mouth.”