Eat, Drink, and Be Scary!

As we light up from the joy our children get from playing dress up and engorging themselves with candy, we also cringe at the effects the candy is having on our children's teeth, not to mention us parents who also want to indulge in the candy phenomenon! Being a mom, I really needed to find a way to combat the month long candy raid we tend to let our children do after Halloween. From having the privilege of working with some top notch dentists in my career, I learned a few things and I hope this will help you as parents and as dentists!

1) The 3 Day Rule: So super simple! Let your child indulge in whatever candy they would like for the first 3 days after Halloween. Once that third day is up, collect all their candy (if there is any left) and get it out of your house! Donate it to charity, find an organization that sends to soldiers overseas, anything to keep it out of your child's mouth. This will give them a healthy view of Halloween participation and also a healthy idea of their oral care.

2) This one is for the Dentists! Candy Buy Back: After the 3 Day Rule, have an event at your dental office allowing your families and children to come into your office all dressed up with all the candy they didn't eat! Reward them for doing such a great job! Not only are you helping them take accountability for their preventative oral care, you are also encouraging them to do something good for others. I like to gather all the candy and send them to soldiers, domestic violence shelters, hospitals where children didn't get to Trick or Treat. The ideas are endless! This is a great way to get face time with potential new patients and get your name out in the community! You can choose how much you want to pay your patients for the candy! It's a win win.

To everyone on this Ghoulish day, Stay Safe and Treat On!