It’s almost Halloween and that means all of fun aspects of the season, including my daughters picking out their costumes and of course bringing home candy after a night of crazy tricks and treats.

As a dad, one of the things that I have to help my daughters balance is their love of candy and the health of their teeth. This happens around Halloween, but really throughout the year too. It has been important over the years to have conversations with my daughter about making good decisions about their dental health and knowing what they can do to keep cavities away.

For me, it is always about routine when it comes to a dental routine. While I like a good Peanut Butter cup as much as the next person, I know that I need to make sure to brush my teeth soon after I eat the sweet treat. I also make sure to floss my teeth every night. I will be honest and say that I did not have this routine all of my life, but as I got into my 30’s I had a poignant conversation with my Grandfather at the end of his life. He told me that the one regret that he had in life was that he did not take better care of his teeth. This to me was a turning point. I had always heard that it could take some time to solidify a new routine and this was the case for me as well. However, when I did work at it, though there may have been some slips, within only a few weeks it was the routine. Now, it is my normal and I could not think of anything different.

As my kids have gotten older I have shared my story with them. I do not know whether it is making a difference, but I do see them having their own routine, and while it may be different than mine, I am glad to see that they stay consistent in this routine. It helps to have good dental products on the market and for us we love the type of toothpaste that Crest offers–it really works!

Seeing that my family does love using Crest, I was super excited to find out that Crest and Kroger are working together to make sure you and your family won’t enter November with a mouthful of cavities! In preparation for Halloween, a variety of Crest products will be on sale at Kroger for $2.99. Additionally, on 10/28, a $1-off coupon insert will be available inside local newspapers across the U.S., giving readers a discount on their favorite Crest Toothpaste varieties through 11/10. So, bring on the candy because Crest has you covered this Halloween.

And, for even more fun, Crest just released some very interesting statistics from their very own Crest Candy Confessions survey. Take a look at some of their findings:

• 86% of parents eat candy that was given to their child while trick-or-treating.
  
• Most people (73%) purposefully buy more Halloween candy than they needed for trick-or-treaters so they can eat the extra.
• 44% of parents admitted to eating more Halloween candy than their children.
• Only 48% of adults enforce a stricter teeth brushing/flossing routine on Halloween for themselves. However, 70% parents enforce stricter teeth brushing/routines on Halloween for their children.
• Sneaky parents! Over 50% of parents admitted that they snuck a few pieces of candy from their children’s candy stash without them noticing. 34% of parents insisted on “inspecting” the candy, only to hide a stash for themselves. Only 4% of parents reported that they do not eat their child’s candy.
  
• The average parent eats one-fourth of their children’s Halloween candy.
• Four in 10 adults say they enjoy the holiday even more now than when they were a child. For 37% of these adults, the reason why is because there’s no limit on the amount of candy they can consume.
  
• A responsible 58% of adults do limit their candy consumption on Halloween night and 75% of parents limit the amount of candy their children eat on the holiday.
  
• Seven in 10 parents enforce a stricter teeth brushing and flossing routine on Halloween, and 41% compensate for Halloween candy by serving a healthier dinner on the holiday itself or the next night.

• 72.7% of mothers limit their children to a maximum of 10 pieces of candy on Halloween. Fathers set their child’s candy limit a bit higher, with over 60% setting limits between 11 – 31+.
• Kids looking to swap their candy for cold, hard cash or toys will have a better chance with dad. 23.59% of dads said they would offer to buy back their kids’ candy as away to limit their children’s candy consumption. Only 8.95% used this tactic.
  • Dads are also more likely to trade candy for toys or other small gifts. 38.53% of dads use this tactic whereas only 14.48% of moms would.

Halloween also wouldn’t be the same without Halloween candy! Crest proves this point by bringing a group of school-aged children together for a focus group where they are asked to test out some new healthy alternatives for the season. Check out what these kids had to say!

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