Protecting teeth from Halloween candy

(WTNH) -- Trick or treating can be a fun rite of passage for about 41 million kids, but there's a downside -- With all that candy comes loads of sugar.

As the mother of a young child, Jenay Dunlap Myers feels strongly about protecting her daughter's teeth.

"Her teeth have been fine and we want to keep it that way," Myers said.

The Myers don't go trick or treating to collect candy.

"For us, it's just another day. We don't make any big deal out of it," Myers said.

But some kids do. Pediatric dentist Dr. Kaneta Lott says it's almost impossible to get candy totally out of a child's diet. So for parents haunted by the thought of all that sugar, Lott says keep this in mind.

"Anything that gets stuck between your teeth is gonna cause decay," Dr. Lott said.

And hard candies that you keep in the mouth weaken the teeth, but Lott says chocolate is not as bad.

"One, it melts quickly and we swallow. The second thing, it contains tannins and tannins are bacterial static, meaning they don't allow the bacteria to grow and if bacteria don't grow, we don't get decay," Dr. Lott said.

She also recommends flossing before brushing, and finally, "if you must have candy, bundle it together with healthy food so it comes right after, after your dinner," Dr. Lott said.