Halloween has gone 'woke' as dentists have recommended that children should be given toys or ‘stickers’ instead of sweets.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England has called on parents to try and steer children away from sugar and published a list of recommendations if sweets must be consumed.
Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: "Although we don't want to be too draconian about one night of festivities, it is a good reminder that this should be regarded as an occasion and not the norm, you want to avoid sugar grazing as that's more problematic for oral health."
Lollipops are particularly problematic for teeth, Eckhart said, releasing increased amounts of sugar as they slowly dissolve in the mouth.
Parents have been advised to regulate children's trick or treating
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This advice follows the Scottish National Dental Inspection Programme finding that a quarter of children beginning primary school had obvious signs of tooth decay.
The problem is exacerbated in poorer areas, with 60.1 per cent of children in the most deprived communities exhibiting no obvious signs of tooth decay, compared to 86.3 per cent in the most affluent.
NHS advice says that children aged four to six should have no more than 19 grams of free sugars a day, while those aged seven to 10 should have up to 24 grams.
For reference, a Swizzels drumstick lolly weighing 10 grams contains around 8.8 grams of sugar.
When sugar breaks down in the mouth, it produces acids that break down enamel
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In a seven-point-plan to shore up dental health, dentists have recommended:
- Forbidding children from eating all their Halloween sweets in one go
- Avoiding sweets that can get stuck to teeth
- Giving “alternatives such as stickers or playdough” to trick or treaters
- Limiting the amount of sweets given
- Serving water instead of soft drinks at Halloween parties
- Handing children a new toothbrush after they’ve finished their sweets
- Making sure children brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste before bed, even if they’re tired
Tooth removals due to a primary diagnosis of tooth decay rose by 4,424 last year
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Tooth decay is the foremost cause of child hospital admissions, with 19,381 kids aged five to nine admitted to hospital for it in 2023-24, according to NHS England Data.
Moreover, English hospitals extracted teeth 31,165 times for patients aged 19 and under last year due to a primary diagnosis of tooth decay - 4,424 more than the previous year.
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