Sour candy: Enamel's enemy this Halloween

Oct 26, 2010

Parents should axe the sour candy and take other steps to protect their children's teeth this Halloween, advises the California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) as part of its public education campaign during National Dental Hygiene Month.

All candy is not created equal, according to the CDHA. Sour candy is worse because it has an acid content on par with battery acid and has the power to cause even more damage to your teeth than regular sweets.

"Sour candy is one of the most frightening of all Halloween treats," Ellen Standley, R.D.H., president of CDHA, said in a press release. "This new generation of candy is highly popular, but especially dangerous due to the high acid levels."

With repeated exposure and frequency, sour candy can lead to a host of oral health problems, including increased caries, tooth sensitivity, staining, soft-tissue sensitivities, and dulling of teeth, Standley said.

The CDHA is offering the following candy tips this Halloween:

Don't suck on hard candy for a long period of time because this bathes the teeth with plaque acids and continues for 20 to 40 minutes after finishing.
Limit the frequency of candy exposure. Surprisingly, four candy bars eaten all at once cause less damage than one candy bar eaten over a long period of time. What counts is the number of times the teeth are exposed to sweets and how long the candy is in the mouth.
Brush teeth or rinse with water after eating candy or sweet treats.
Do not brush teeth directly after eating sour candy, as this will remove more of the already softened enamel. Instead, rinse the mouth with water immediately.
Use fluoride toothpaste to help remineralize the areas of the tooth broken down by the acid. Nightly, over-the-counter fluoride rinses help prevent the formation of caries too.
Look for the following acids on the back label of ingredients and avoid them: citric, lactic, malic, tartaric, fumaric, adipic, ascorbic.