万圣节的糖果学问 口腔健康与糖果兼得

There are lots of candy options for Halloween, but which ones cause less harm for children's teeth? As parents, it's normal to worry about which treats to keep and let our children eat after Halloween night. Also, when distributing candy to next-door children, a selection can be made to choose the healthiest ones.

有很多不同种类的万圣节糖果可以供我们选择，但是哪一种才是对孩纸们的牙齿伤害最少的呢？作为父母，担心到底要挑哪种糖给孩子们在万圣节晚上之后吃是很正常的。同时，当给邻家小孩分糖的时候，也应该选择最健康的那种。

Halloween is a very fun party for adults and for children as it's an opportunity to dress up with costumes and put lights and decorations to entertain the neighbours. But we want to make sure that all the candy accumulation and consumption will not create regretful cavities.

万圣节是大人和小孩的狂欢节，因为那是一个鲜有的机会可以穿奇装异服和挂起彩灯和装饰来娱乐邻居。但是我们要确定，堆积和消费掉的糖果将来不会导致令人遗憾的蛀牙。

When considering dental health, treats can be classified in different categories whether they are good or not so good.

当考虑到牙齿健康时，糖果根据其好与不好能够分成几类。

Bad treats

坏糖果

Sticky candies are the worse for teeth. After they are chewed, remaining pieces stick to teeth and they are not cleaned automatically by saliva flow. This increases the contact time between sugar and teeth, creating a perfect environment for cavities to develop.

牛皮糖对牙齿是很不好的。当它们被咀嚼后，剩余的小残渣会粘在牙齿上，它们也不会因为唾液的流动而自动被清理。这会增加糖和牙齿接触的时间，创造了滋生蛀牙的完美环境。

Dried fruits are like sticky candy. Don't get fooled by the fact that they are fruit as companies add sugar to make them tastier. Also they are very sticky and increase the contact time of sugar with teeth crevices, and therefore increasing the cavity risk.

干的水果糖和牛皮软糖类似。不要以为它们是水果做的，因为生产商们为了让它们更好吃而往里面加了糖。同时，它们也具有很大粘性，也会增加糖和牙齿缝接触的时间，所以它们也增加了患蛀牙的风险。

Sour candies are very acidic and make it easy for tooth enamel to break up. They act like soft drinks and energy beverages. After consumption of highly acidic candy, saliva slowly restores the acid balance in the mouth. It is therefore recommended to brush your teeth only 30 minutes after eating those candies in order not to brush away enamel.

酸的糖果具有很强酸性，会很容易损伤牙齿的牙釉质。它们就像软性饮料和能量饮料一样。在吃了很多酸性糖果以后，唾液会在口腔里慢慢平衡酸碱环境。为了不要刷伤牙釉质，建议你在吃完酸性糖果以后的30分钟内刷牙。

Sugary snacks like candy corn, granola bars, cookies and cake all have high concentrations of sugar and can cause tooth decay.

像玉米糖、麦片糖卷、曲奇饼、蛋糕等具有高浓度糖的零食都会导致蛀牙。

Acceptable treats

可以接受的糖果

Sugar-free candies do not contain sugar therefore bacteria cannot use them to initiate cavity. Also consuming them stimulates the production of saliva, which is a natural but incomplete mouth cleaner.

无糖的糖果不含糖，因此细菌不能利用它们造成蛀牙。同时，在吃它们的时候，会刺激唾液分泌，这是一种天然但是不完全的口腔清洁。

Hard candies also stimulate saliva production and they do not stick to teeth. But it's important to remember that they have good amounts of cavity causing sugars.

硬糖果也会促进唾液分泌，而且不粘牙。但重要的是要记住，它们含有很多会导致蛀牙的糖分。

Cheese sticks, or any kind of cheese has basic properties (bases being opposites of acids), which neutralizes acidic foods in the mouth, making it harder for cavity to start.

芝士棒，或任何一种芝士，都具有基本的特征含碱性物质（与酸性的相反），它会中和口中酸性的食物，让蛀牙更难发生。

Sugar-free gum stimulates saliva flow and, like sugar-free candies, offers a good but not complete cleaning of teeth. Sugar-free gum and sugar-free candy that contain xylitol are even better because this artificial sugar slows down the metabolism of cavity-causing bacteria. Remember that chewing sugar-free gum is not recommended for more than 15-20 minutes or it can harm the jaw.

无糖口香糖刺激唾液的分泌，就像无糖糖果一样，为牙齿提供了一次天然但不完全的清洁。包含了木糖醇的无糖口香糖和无糖糖果甚至会更好，因为这种人工糖分减慢了会导致蛀牙的细菌的代谢。记住，咀嚼无糖口香糖的时间不建议超过15至20分钟，否则可能会伤害到下巴。

Dark chocolate does contain sugar but its cariogenic effect is less harmful to teeth because the chocolate dissolves rapidly and doesn't stick. According to some studies, dark chocolate is an antioxidant and can be good for the heart and may even lower blood pressure.

黑巧克力含糖，但是它的蛀牙效应更小，因为巧克力会迅速溶解并且不粘牙。根据一些学术研究，黑巧克力是一种抗氧化剂，对于心脏有好处，甚至可以减低血压。

Good treats

不错的款待物品

Not all treats should be eatable. Parents could consider giving out non-candy treats like glow sticks, temporary tattoos, sticky hands, play dough , stickers or quarters.

不是所有的万圣节款待物品都要是吃的。父母可以考虑给些非糖的玩具，像发光棒，临时纹身，粘手玩具，玩面团，贴纸或25分的硬币(美国或加拿大用quarter表示25分) 之类的。

Other considerations

其他可考虑的选择

As much as parents care for their children's teeth, Halloween is still a fun party and nobody should be denied that experience. Deprivation can send an entire wrong message and make candy seem even more irresistible . Children may end up sneaking sweets or eating too much candy once they're out on their own. Instead, parents should let children live the joy of Halloween including the experience of going to a party or trick-or-treating.

尽管父母们很在意孩纸们的牙齿健康，万圣节依旧是一个欢乐的派对，每个人都难以拒绝这种体验。一味剥夺享用糖果的权利，可能会传递一个错误的信息，使糖果看上起更加不可拒绝。最终会导致孩子们一旦自己出去，就会偷偷把糖果藏起来，或者吃太多糖果。相反，父母应该让孩子们享受万圣节的乐趣，这也包括去一个派对或者玩“不给糖果就捣乱”的游戏。

After Halloween night is over, there are ways of organizing how treats are managed. Eating extra treats should be limited to once a day. Also, eating candy should not be lingered over too long as to minimize the time that teeth are exposed to sugars and acids.

在万圣节夜结束以后，有几种方法可以管理剩下来的糖。吃额外的糖果应该限制在一天一次。同时，吃糖时不要长时间把糖含在嘴里，以尽量减少糖和酸与牙齿接触的时间。

Children should learn that eating sweets is not an all-day feast and moderation is key. Also when knowing they have a specific treat time can help make children less inclined to think about eating sweets at other times of the day.

孩子们应该学会，不应该整天都吃糖，自我节制是其中的关键。同时，当知道有一个特殊的糖果时间可以吃糖，孩子们在一天之中的其他时间就不会总在想着要吃糖。