With Halloween fast approaching, it’s important to keep your kids’ teeth clean and encourage their brushing habits. Your little goblins and ghouls will probably be getting a lot of sugary snacks near the end of this month.

While some people have switched to handing out reduced sugar or sugar-free snacks, we can’t guarantee that your neighborhood will be teeth healthy. And it’s not easy to deny your kids their hard-earned candy. So we’ve compiled a list of tips to help prevent the cavities that can come with all the candy.

• Set up specific times to eat. The biggest cause of tooth erosion is the prolonged exposure to all the excess sugar. By limiting when your children should have their candy, you can set it up so that they should be brushing their teeth shortly after they eat their treats.
• Watch their dental habits. It may seem pretty simple, but until a child is 7 or 8, and in a healthy habit of brushing twice a day and for at least 2 minutes, it could help to have some adult supervision. If your child isn’t flossing or using mouthwash regularly, now’s the perfect time to start.
• Keep it fun! With some imagination and a great recipe and a great recipe, you can make this Halloween entertaining while limiting the amount of candy your child eats. Encourage your neighbors and others you may know to hand out fun alternatives as well. Even things like stickers or temporary tattoos could be a fun thing for kids to pick out!

We wish you all a happy and safe Halloween!