Local dentists shares how to enjoy Halloween candy and protect your teeth

All right, so this weekend, our teeth don't stand a chance against all the Halloween candy we'll be indulging this weekend, but some options are better for your oral health than others, right? We have some alternatives for us this morning. We're kind of sorting out the good, the bad, and a little bit of the ugly Halloween candy. A little bit of that, yes. Dr. Robert DiPella from DiPella Dentistry is here to help us sort things out. Doc, how are you? I'm doing well. Thank you, and happy Halloween to everyone. It's a good time of year for you. It's a great time for me, as a dentist. Yeah, right. So what I brought here today is kind of like exactly what you said, kind of like the worst type of candy that has no nutritional value. It has empty calories, packed full of sugar, and then also what we brought in is some of the better alternatives, the darker chocolates. A little bit more of cacao, a little bit more cane sugar, and also the new wave, okay? So let's talk about first things first, is the American Heart Association recommends for adults, male, 36 grams of sugar a day. Female, 26. Kids, 26. That's it. That's all you need. That's it. That's all you need. So right here, if you want to lift that up. This is it. That's it. 26 grams of sugar. Oh, no way. All right, so I brought this as a prop. And then, Jay, do me a favor. Oh, we've got to look at this on screen. Yeah, so this is 32 grams you said? That is 26 grams of sugar. Read how many sugars are in the back. Oh, sir, I can't do that. Okay, 77 grams of sugar. Okay, you know what that is? Look at this. This is what, this is the difference between the two. Okay. So wait, hold on. Can we zoom out? Zoom out. Let me show you. Hold on. This one here is what you're supposed to have for the whole day. The whole day. This is what's in just one of these. This is one of the top five. Three times. And then think about having one of those and also all the other hidden sugars that you may have. The Mountain Dew people are going, shut up. Come on, what are you doing? All right. All right. Putting us on blast here. Wow. So what's really important is to understand is how your saliva buffers. The acids. That's the key. We know we have patients that really never brushed their teeth and they never get a cavity. And we have other patients that I brush my teeth, I floss, I do everything. Why am I getting all these cavities? So what we do is we do a pH test. So we're going to take a test right now. So I have one for everybody. I'm going to do it myself. What you're going to do is you're going to get a little saliva on your tongue. You're going to stick your tongue out, get your lips together. We got our um. Done. Now it's like poker. Don't show me your cards. Okay. Okay. I'm scared. Don't be scared. So we're going to take a look over here. Okay. So I had some coffee this morning, so I cheated a little bit. Well, I had coffee, a turkey roll, and I had a Diet Coke. I did. Also, we're going to be- You know what? This is the day that I chose tea this morning. Let's go ahead and kind of take a look. So this is seven. That's neutral. Okay. pH seven is neutral. Anything below is acidic. Anything above, Jay? Yeah. I'm acidic. You're very acidic. I'm acidic. What are we going to do with you? I don't know. What does that mean? What do I do every morning? Do you hydrate? Do I hydrate? Do you drink a lot of water? Yeah, of course I do. Probiotics, prebiotics. No, I don't do all that. All right. So we're going to make that a standard for you. Very good. So at my son's trunk or treat, we were there the other day and we had all the candy out. And what was amazing to me was they, these kids now, the new trend is these little. The squishies. Yeah, they're going crazy for these things. It's amazing that these things went like crazy, how fast. So they're ditching the candy for the toys now, for sure. Yeah, that's what they're doing. Wow. So the key to this is, once again, is moderation, especially for Halloween. What I would recommend is for parents is kind of separate the candy. This is so much allowed for today. One of the things you don't want to do is- How about Play-Doh? Play-Doh is great. And then also the big trend, do you ever see these? No. These dumplings? Get a little, what is it, ASMR or whatever? Oh, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, that sound, that weird thing where people do it on YouTube. People love it. So is it just the sensory vibes that people... It's a sensory vibe that the kids love these days. But like I said, the main thing is moderation. See your dentist twice a year. And then kind of keep it simple. I mean, it's just a simple formula. Well, like you said, hydration is going to be key, right? Just to get everything balanced. 100%. And then also another point is that after you have a sugary snack, wait 30 minutes. to brush. Really? Why? Because in our saliva, there's bicarbonate. Bicarbonate will help buffer that saliva. Wow. All right. Very good. The more things you know, Doc. The more you know. Okay. I appreciate that because that... Wow. All right. So, Candy, have that water bottle on the side of you if you're going out trick-or-treating. Keep that safe out there. You can still indulge. This is good information. Yeah. It's still okay to have one of these? I'm taking one. I'm taking one. I'm glad this is on the bad side, the candy corn. I'm just going to chug this sugar and hope it's a good day. We'll be back. I don't know.