Halloween: It’s your kids’ favorite time of year, complete with costumes, jack-o’-lanterns, and candy. But when your child (or you!) has braces on, that candy can do much more damage than just giving them a sugar high. Extra sticky, chewy, and hard candy wreak havoc on your wires and brackets. Wires can bend or break when food is too chewy or tough, and a loose wire in your mouth can really hurt. Brackets have also been known to pop off when eating something tough. Whenever there is a major problem with your orthodontic equipment, progress can be set back by days or weeks. You definitely don’t want to have to halt trick-or-treating to call our office and make an appointment to get it fixed! To avoid having a braces scare this Halloween, make sure to avoid the following candies:
- Anything with caramel
- Hard candies
- Taffy
- Licorice
- Candy corn
- Popcorn balls
- Jelly beans
- Carmel/candy apples
- Candy bars with nuts
Don’t let this list daunt you—you don’t have to tell your kids (or yourself) no to all candy! There is plenty of braces-friendly candy out there to enjoy, although avoiding caramel and nuts is a good rule of thumb. Even some of our favorite candies make the list of candy that is safe to eat with your wires and brackets. Have your kids collect plenty of the following in their pillowcases this year:
- Peanut butter cups
- Kit Kats
- Regular M&Ms
- Oreos
- Chips Ahoy and other soft cookies
- Hershey’s Kisses
- Plain Hershey’s Bars
- 3 Musketeers
- Mound Bars (and any candy bar that doesn’t have caramel or nuts!)
By following these tricks, you will still be able to have lots of treats this Halloween while keeping your smile sweet too! No matter if you are dressed as a ghost, a witch, or even as an orthodontist, you can still successfully keep working toward your ideal smile this Halloween.