Halloween: A Dentist's Perspective
For kids all over the United States, Halloween is a holiday filled with costumes, good times with peers, and, of course, candy. For dentists all over the United States, it is a holiday filled with cavities, plaque, and broken teeth.
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"The healthy kids the kids that are dentally healthy and are dentally aware will be fine" say dentist Dennis Monnig. "The candy, if you spread it out and you aren't brushing, it can be a problem for someone who already has a lot of problems with decay."Dr. Monnig also believes that candy is not necessarily the only fun part of Halloween. " I think the whole idea of going out and putting on costumes is a lot of fun and you get fun just from doing that." Kids enjoying one night a year of unlimited sweet treats is not a huge concern. But when compulsive candy consumption becomes the the norm, dentists see the negative consequences. |
"I don't think there is a lot of damage from a one time binging, but honestly, a lot of people eat on that stuff all the time, and like i said it is crowding out proper nutrition," said Dr. Monnig.
A lady in in Oregon is taking an extreme approach, putting a letter in the bags of obese children warning them about effects of candy on their bodies and their health, telling them they should not be trick-or-treating. "I don't agree with that, that's not the place for it," said Dr. Monnig, but he does add that there should be more awareness about all the Halloween candy. "Maybe we are overdoing it considering the unhealthiness of these treats." |