By Shawn King
Bayside dentists have a sweet deal for children this Halloween.
Dr. Nicholas Rallis, at the Center for Smiles, is offering trick-or-treaters the opportunity to bring in their candy and exchange it for cash and other prizes.
Rallis hopes his annual Cash for Candy event will provide enough incentive for kids to empty their buckets of candy for an opportunity to fill their piggy banks.
“Ditch the candy, that’s what we’re saying. Visiting the dentist twice a year and brushing daily are great preventative measures, but doing away with the excess sweets altogether really give teeth a healthy boost,” Rallis said.
Last year’s candy collection was spoiled by Hurricane Sandy, but Rallis hopes this year will be a success much like in years past. The center is exchanging $1 for each pound of candy.
The benefits of limiting sugar consumption do not just end with the teeth. Sugar has been linked to hyperactivity, weight gain, diabetes and accelerated aging. Global sugar consumption by kids increases by 2 percent, or 50 tons annually. Rallis and the Center for Smiles is hoping to do its part to decrease that number.
The collected candy from the event will be shipped to U.S. troops overseas as part of Operation Gratitude, an organization that collects and sends care packages to troops deployed overseas. The hope is that the candy can give troops a little taste of the sweet life they have been missing.
The unopened candy will be collected starting the day after Halloween at the Center for Smiles, at 209-20 35th Ave. in Bayside. Candy will be collected until Nov. 1. The Center for Smiles urges local schools to participate as well.
University Dental, which is also in Bayside, has been conducting a Halloween candy buyback program for a number of years. The practice will pay up to $1 per pound for a maximum of 10 pounds per person for unopened Halloween candy on Nov. 4 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
The candy collection is part of Operation Gratitude. University Dental is located at 43-07 214th Place
