For kids, Halloween is one of the most popular days of the year. But for dentists, it's one of the scariest.

"Many times on the day after Halloween, patients are coming in with loose fillings, crowns and caps because they got stuck on sticky candy," says Dr. Kris Tumilowicz with Dental Dimensions.

Dentists warn to be careful when snacking on halloween goodies, and to keep an eye on kids and their trick-or-treat candy.

"You might want to ration out candy and sweets for your children," he says. "Maybe after a meal, when their teeth are already covered in food."

Every time you eat something sweet, the bacteria in your mouth feast on it. It produces acids that attack your teeth and cause decay.

The more sugar you eat, the harder it is for your saliva to neutralize those acids and repair tooth enamel.

The worst choices are hard candy and sticky gummy candy. To satisfy a sweet tooth, there's a better alternative.

"Chocolate, for example, is a good treat," he says. "It dissolves quickly, doesn't stick, and has some nutritional value."

But it's not just Halloween that can be haunting on the health of your teeth. There's something that poses a risk all year long.

"A can of soda pop has 12 teaspons of sugar in it," he says. "That's a lot of sugar."

If you can't deal with diet pop, he offers these suggestions: "Many of our patients will take a soda pop and mix it 50/50 with a diet pop and little by little, they're weaning themselves off of it. And if you do drink a sugary liquid, make sure you have some water after. Rinse real well."