A Kelowna dentist is hoping to reduce cavities among children by buying the candy they collect this Halloween.
Dr. Vikram Grewal with Okanagan Smiles, says he's done it with his son in past years and wanted to open the offer to all kids. He says he doesn't necessarily have a problem with the amount of candy children eat after trick-or-treating, but rather the frequency.
“So if I have for example 10 candies and I consume those 10 candies in a matter of a minute or two, that’s considered one attack on the tooth,” he said “now if I had one candy and every hour I munch on one, than at the end of 10 hours, that’s considered 10 separate attacks on the teeth.”
He's buying candy at a rate of $1/pound to a maximum of $10 per child. The buyback program will run from November 1-8 at Okanagan Smiles, located at 2149 Springfield Road.
The candy will be donated to charities, for them to give out during events they host.
“As opposed to having one child with 200 candies within a period of a few weeks I’d rather have 200 kids with one candy each,” Grewal says “That’s a fair distribution of the sugar overload.”
Grewal admits getting kids to give up candy is a tough sell, but hopes through education he can prevent some cavities.