Dr. Holiday, our CPD’s luchador angel and unofficial mascot, surrounded by a corona of candy magic
It’s almost Halloween, and soon the witches, ghouls, assorted sports heroes, snakes, and princesses will begin wandering through our neighborhoods. They’ll creep out of minivans, hands held by responsible adults, and come forward to knock doors and demand sugary tributes. Historically, this is a time when some dentists will begin offering “candy buy-back” programs, worse dentists will hand out toothbrushes instead of candy, and even worse dentists will blog about Halloween.
Here at CPD, Alex and Kevin began their careers as dentists by being human children. We see patients from a variety of faith and cultural traditions, but both of our doctors enjoyed trick-or-treating and the ceremonial eating of candy. Kev even briefly entertained the possibility of going to culinary school to become a pastry chef rather than a dentist, because he deeply believes that chocolate is literal magic.
Halloween holds a special place in kids’ imaginations. It’s the only holiday where the actual celebration isn’t pre-determined. Thanksgiving? Turkey and family and football. Christmas? Santa, presents, and the correct titration of religiousness based on your family’s setup. With Halloween, kids get to choose who they want to be. That remarkable level of freedom, particularly with young children, can be awe-inspiring.
Here’s Dr. Kev’s son Emmet’s list of potential Halloween costumes from 2016. It also reads like a call to donut action for the midwest.
To that end, the team at CPD is pro-Halloween, and even briefly pro-candy. After the kids drift off to sleep, and sensible and completely ethical parents are snooping through their children’s candy hoard, we hope they’re making smart choices about which candies are going be left behind and which will be martyred for the children’s benefit.
In general, avoid things that are sticky and sour. Those are the worst. They contain acid which dissolves teeth, they contain sugar that gets turned into acid which dissolves teeth, and they are sticky so they don’t get easily washed away. Second place in the “who’s worst?” list are things that are just sticky, since they’re packed with sugar and are hard to clean off. Instead, support candies which are fleeting pleasures. Chocolate candy is the rightful king of Halloween, and for good reason. Chocolate is delicious and quickly soluble. A child gets that magical punch of sugary creamy magic, and then it’s gone.
Just to make sure, though, CPD’s dental crew suggests making sure that parents offer a helping hand in brushing teeth. A good scrub will help mitigate the effects of a righteous candy haul. Even on Halloween night, parents should get in there with some floss and knock out the Milk Duds that some clever child has crammed between his back teeth.
In short, Halloween comes only once a year. Throw in some plastic fangs, put on that rainbow wig, tie up your clown shoes, and have some fun for once.