Halloween and dentists would usually be considered strange bedfellows, but two Carson City dentists are trying to change that.
Dentists Clint Euse and Randy Wright, who run Advanced Dentistry by Design, are inviting children to donate some of their Halloween bounty on Monday to send to U.S. troops serving overseas.
At their north Carson office, the dentists say they fill their share of cavities during the holiday season.
Still, Euse said business has been impacted by the recession, with some people putting off needed dental work as a result.
To counter, Euse said he and Wright have been practicing more preventative dentistry, such as testing mouths for bacteria that are more likely to produce tooth-damaging acid. While not a long-term solution for people who need dental work, Euse said it helps.
He points out another machine that can produce crowns in the office by using a camera that scans a tooth, sends the information to a computer that designs, shapes and produces the crown in a nearby machine.
"People are conscious of taking off work," Euse said, "so that saves about an hour."
As for their next mission - collecting sweets for U.S. troops - they will accept candy on Monday from 3 to 6 p.m. Children can earn $1 for every pound of candy they bring in up to 5 pounds.
The donations will be sent to Operation Gratitude, the program that ships the candy to soldiers.
Children also will get a light-up toothbrush, which lets them know how long to scrub down their teeth. Adults will be eligible for a raffle drawing, too, for an electric toothbrush or a dinner.
Euse said he heard about the national candy buy-back program a year ago, calling it a "win-win."
"These days (children) don't need to be eating the massive quantities of candy they get from Halloween," he said. "And if they can give up some of that candy and get a little bit of money for turning it in then we can take that and send it off to the troops."
And as a dentist, Euse said giving away some of the sweet treats could benefit young teeth in the long run.
He said it's the sticky candy that can get lodged in teeth that can have the most damaging effects.
"The longer that stuff sticks to your teeth, the more likely you are to get a cavity," he said.
Euse said parents should limit the amount of candy their children eat each day and to have them rinse their mouths with water after any candy binge.
Still, "we don't want to deprive kids of their candy," he said.