Braces-Friendly Halloween Candy

McClellan Orthodontics

Halloween season is upon us and no matter how you plan to celebrate this year, we know there’s a good chance there will be some candy involved. However, if you’re one of our braces patients, you might be thinking…"Should I even go trick or treating? It’s not like I can eat any of the candy anyway". The good news is, yes, you can go trick or treating! Have fun because you might be surprised to learn that there is Halloween candy you can eat with braces!

Some of the best Halloween candies are actually safe to eat with braces! Here’s a list of some of the best candies and treats you can eat while wearing braces.

• Chocolate Bars without Nuts - Hershey’s Bars, 3 Musketeers, Kit Kat, Mounds
  

• Soft Candy - Reese’s Peanut butter cups, Peppermint Patties, Junior Mints
  

• Candy Pieces – Plain M&Ms, Peanut Butter M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, Hershey’s Kisses, Smarties
  

While these candies should be safe, remember to take it slow with anything that feels chewy or sticky. Be sure to break things like candy bars into small pieces and chew with your back teeth. When it comes to M&Ms and Reese’s Pieces, it’s a good idea to let them melt in your mouth a bit instead of eating them quickly and by the handful. Also, be sure to brush and floss your teeth afterward. Otherwise, the sugars can linger and become plaque and acids that can cause tooth decay.

In addition to candy, you can also have some Halloween favorites like:

• Soft-baked Cookies

• Cupcakes

• Cake Pops

Sticky foods like Tootsie Rolls and taffy can get stuck around your braces, which can loosen or break brackets. Nuts and hard candies can break wires. This usually means an emergency visit to our office for repairs.

Basically, if it’s hard, sticky, chewy, or extra crunchy, there’s a chance it could damage your braces…so avoid those foods. If you find these in your Halloween candy bag, find a friend to trade them for something from the list above.

Halloween Candies You Should Avoid:

• Chewy Candies - Tootsie Rolls, Skittles, Laffy Taffy, Sugar Daddies, Sugar Babies, Starburst, Candy Corn, Bubblegum

• Jelly candies - Sour Patch Kids, Dots, Swedish Fish, Jellybeans, Twizzlers, Red Vines, Licorice, Mike & Ikes

• Chocolate Bars with Nuts - Snickers, Almond Joy, PayDay
  

• Extra Crunchy Candy - Butterfinger, Heath

• Caramels - Milk Duds, Toffee, Rolo, Twix, Milky Way
  

• Hard Candies - Nerds, Jolly Ranchers, Butterscotch, Suckers, Now and Laters, Lemonheads

Since brackets and wires do trap food, and candy is filled with sugar, it’s best to eat candy with braces in moderation. The bacteria in the mouth feed on sugars and starches forming plaque, which then releases acids that can erode the tooth’s enamel causing cavities. Your teeth will move most efficiently in a healthy oral environment and getting cavities will throw your treatment off track, so make sweets an occasional treat.

Additionally, after having Halloween candy, brush your teeth really well with a fluoride toothpaste. Give each individual tooth a little attention and clean around your brackets and wires. If you’re not at home and you forget your toothbrush, rinse your mouth out with water and brush as soon as you get home.

Now that you know all about the types of Halloween candy you can eat with braces, we hope everyone has an amazing Halloween! If you have any questions regarding the types of Halloween candy you can eat, please give McClellan Orthodontics a call.