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candy consumption, dental care, dentist special offers, find a dentist, find a local dentist, fun size, ghouls and goblins, halloween trick, quality dental care, schedule appointments
Halloween Trick or Treat bucket
It’s that time of year again where little ghouls and goblins will get to stay up past their bedtime and dress up as pretty princesses, superheroes or cartoon characters and go door-to-door filling up pillowcases with candy. October 31 is a day children look forward to with excitement and parents seem to dread thanks to fear of cavities or unhealthy candy consumption.
Trick or Treat?
We did a little research (thank you internet) on the best and worst types of candy for your little one’s teeth and for your waistline.
Chew On This:
Even though chewy, gummy candies like Laffy Taffy or Starburst have fewer calories (35 and 40 calories each for the fun-sized), they make up for it with their cavity inducing stickiness. These scary treats require extra time to dissolve, giving cavities extra time to develop thanks to the sugar and acid lingering in your mouth longer. What’s doubly-frightening is that Skittles are 60 calories for a Bite Sized bag and is the culprit behind most braces brackets breaking (might result in a trip to the Dentist! Not to fear, just use DentistUSA.com to find a dentist.). Frightening!
Chewy candies do boast the least amount of calories, but dentists won’t suggest them due to their sticky factor. Here’s the breakdown here:
| Skittles Bite Size | 60 calories |
| Nerds Mini Box | 50 calories |
| Starburst Fun Size (Original + Tropical Chews) | 40 calories |
| Laffy Taffy Bar | 35 calories |
| Life Saver Gummies | 30 calories |
| Sweet Tarts | 25 calories |
| Gobstoppers | 20 calories |
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark:
Dark chocolate tends to be better for you thanks being antioxidant rich and full of Flavanoids which help ward off high blood pressure, according to WebMD. Eating about a 1.6 oz bar is actually not bad for your health, but be careful because our favorite Hershey’s Special Dark miniatures will set you back 45 calories EACH. Mindlessly chew on 4 and you’ve consumed 180 calories.
Milk Chocolate Melts in Your Mouth
…that’s why it tends to be better for your teeth than other types of candies. Because it melts so quickly, most milk chocolate Halloween candy tends to be less cavity inducing. They are still very high in calories. We did some grueling research down the candy aisle. Ready?
| 100 Grand Fun Size | 95 calories |
| Twix Fun Size | 80 calories |
| Milky Way Fun Size | 76 calories |
| Kit Kat Snack Size | 70 calories |
| Milk Duds Snack Size Boxes | 53 calories |
| Hershey’s Miniatures | 45 calories |
| Whoppers Snack Size Tubes | 32 calories |
| Hershe’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses | 23 calories |
| Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses | 22 calories |
| Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Snack Size | 110 calories |
It’s no surprise that the peanut rich Reese’s Peanut Butter cups top the list in caloric intake.
Is Smaller Better?
Now for the mini bags (we saved this for last, because we think it’s the most deceptive), one would think these itty bitty bite sized treats wouldn’t be as high in calories as they are, but oh no! Wait until you read this:
3 Musketeers Minis: A modest 24 calories each for this soft, fluffy candy
Milky Way Minis: 40 calories
Milky Way Midnight Minis: 35 calories for this dark chocolate alternative
Snickers Minis: 45 calories
Butterfinger Minis: An outrageous 45 calories
Twix Minis: 50 calories for this caramel and cookie bar
Enjoy trick or treating with your little ones, and make sure they brush and floss after a night out. A twice annual visit to your local dentist can’t hurt, either!