No trick for the kids, nice treat for the troops

Wanted!

Dr. Humphrey Family Dentistry at 302 S. Main in Gallatin is offering a reward of $1 in exchange for every pound of candy children bring in after Halloween.

He’ll throw in a free toothbrush to sweeten the pot. Dr. Humphrey will be trading cash for candy from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 1, and from 3-5 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, Nov. 3-6.

The candy will be packaged and sent to Operation Gratitude and shipped overseas to the troops stationed in the Middle East. It’s not so much for the troops to have candy to munch on (well, maybe a little), but they can hand out the treats to the Iraqi and Afghanistan children. A great way to break the ice and make fast friends.

The idea has been promoted by the American Dental Association for the past few years. Dr. Humphrey’s brother-in-law, Dr. Walter Franz, is a physician presently serving in Iraq — that capped it for the dentist office as far as motivation.

Kate Chisman, dental hygienist at Dr. Humphrey’s, said she’s read that the average office involved in the project collects about 500 pounds of candy, and the average kid brings in about five pounds. The dentist office will have several big boxes for the kids to deposit their stash in. They will probably be amazed at just how much candy is collected.

"Kids just get too much Halloween candy," said Kate. "They don’t really need to eat so much of that stuff. My little boy, Case, is two. He went trick-or-treating to just a few houses last year. He got too much candy. No kid needs five pounds of candy."

The idea is to prevent cavities and promote oral health. Kids’ teeth aren’t going to rot and fall out overnight. And, no, it probably won’t go straight to their parents’ hips.

"Everybody needs a little chocolate," said Kate. "We’re not Scrooges."

The dentist office recommends moderation. An occasional piece of candy is fine, as long as the little ones be sure they brush daily, floss, and have regular check-ups.

It’s the excess that hurts. Kids and adults can both have too much of a good thing.

"Kids can only eat so much at one time," said Kate. "They don’t need it every day either."

In the short run, too much can lead to tummy aches and sugar highs. In the long run, it can lead to scary things, like diabetes, weight gain and tooth decay. Kate cited the studies on obesity in all of the American population, which is now moving down to younger children because of inactivity and poor diet.

Straight chocolate is actually the best kind of candy for kids to eat because it melts in the mouth.

"Anything that sticks in their teeth is what causes us the most problems," she said.

Once the kids have picked out their favorite pieces and are down to the stuff that’s just going to sit around and get thrown out anyway, they can trade it in for some cold hard cash.

Not only is the candy buyback a fun thing for the kids, it gives them a way to help out in a good cause. Along with their goodies, the small ones are encouraged to draw pictures and write letters to the troops. They can post a message and there will be cards for them to sign at Dr. Humphrey’s office.

Kids from all over the area are welcome to cash in their loot, not just patients of the office. There’s no limit on the number of pounds the kids can bring in, but the candy does need to be wrapped. The goodies will be weighed on a digital scale at the office and rounded off to the closest pound.

"There’s always some candy the kids don’t like," said Kate. "We want the leftovers. There’s always a lot of that."