Family Dentistry

7 Sweet Facts about Halloween Candy

Oct 28 • 1 minute read

A pile of candy corn.

 

Halloween is upon us! We hope you have your scary or funny costume picked out and ready to go for when the streets fill with trick or treaters.

Halloween can be a tough holiday for dentists because we know the damage it's going to do to children's teeth across the country. We hope everyone has fun and gets their fill of chocolate and sugar, but we stress moderation and good oral hygiene habits to all you parents out there. Before you dig into all the sweets, check out these fun facts about Halloween candy:

  1. On average, Americans purchase about 600 million pounds of candy each Halloween. That's a whole lot of fuel for tooth decay!
  2. Many holidays in America generate huge sales for candy companies. It's during Halloween, however, that the most chocolate is sold. Easter comes in second and Valentine's Day is third.
  3. Halloween generates about $2 billion every year in candy sales.
  4. Candy corn—you either love it or hate it—was first produced in the 1880s and only seasonally at first.
  5. Speaking of candy corn, according to a consumer survey of 1,335 adults in the U.S., 42.7% of people eat the white piece at the tip first, 46.8% eat the whole piece of candy, and 10.6% start with the yellow end.
  6. The National Confectioner's Association says that 23% of parents—or about one in four—sneaks a treat from their kid's Halloween haul, which makes this a good place to stress good oral hygiene for all you candy thieving parents out there too.
  7. Tootsie Rolls, a popular Halloween candy, were put into soldier's field rations during WWII. Undoubtedly to bring a little comfort from home to soldiers enduring great misery, Tootsie Rolls were also selected because of their durability in various weather conditions.

Thanks for Reading!

We hope these Halloween candy facts put an interesting spin on the very interesting holiday that is Halloween. Enjoy your sweets, but take care of your teeth as you do. If you like our blog, please consider liking or sharing our Facebook page.

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Christopher and Anne Thompson, DDS
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry
Creating Beautiful Smiles in Turlock

Drs. Christopher and Anne Thompson offer quality dental implant, family, and cosmetic dentistry services in Turlock, CA. Make us your family dental center today!

Christopher and Anne Thompson, D.D.S.
795 East Olive Ave. Ste. A Turlock, CA 95380
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