• Posted October 31, 2025

This Common Halloween Candy Might Be the Scariest Thing You Eat

They may make your lips pucker, but sour candies can do more than surprise your taste buds — they can seriously damage your teeth, experts warn.

“These candies combine two factors that increase mouth acidity and accelerate enamel erosion,” said Nadine Tassabehji, an assistant professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. 

While all candy can harm teeth, sour candies are especially destructive because of their high acid content. Common ingredients like citric, malic, tartaric and fumaric acids make these treats extra lip-puckering and extra harsh on tooth enamel.

When you eat sugary foods, the pH in your mouth drops and becomes more acidic, Tassabehji explained.

The mouth tries to fix that by pulling minerals like calcium and potassium from your teeth, which weakens enamel.

If the candy is sticky, as many sour gummies are, "they stay there much longer,” Tassabehji said. “That sticky, acidic and sugary mix is a recipe for trouble.”

Despite the damage they can cause, sour candies aren’t going away. Industry data shows that sales of sour treats have surged by up to 70% over the past decade, fueled in part by viral “sour candy challenges” on TikTok and YouTube.

Even adults are hooked. A 2024 study from Penn State University found that about 1 in 8 adults enjoy “intensely sour sensations.” Some viral posts have even claimed sour candies can relieve anxiety — a claim experts say lacks any scientific evidence.

Further, while reaching for your toothbrush immediately after eating sour candy might seem like the right move, it can actually make things worse.

“Whenever you have acidity in the mouth, you never want to go in with a toothbrush, because what you’re really doing is helping the acidity spread and eat away at the tooth enamel,” Tassabehji explained.

“What we recommend as a first step is rinsing the mouth with water,” she said. “If anything is stuck between the teeth, use floss to remove it.”

Drinking milk to help neutralize acid can also help.

“Dairy is a really good way to neutralize the acid very quickly,” Tassabehji said.

You'll also want to wait at least 30 minutes before brushing with a fluoride toothpaste to help rebuild enamel, she added.

Tassabehji noted that not all sour foods are harmful.

Fermented foods like pickles, sauerkraut or kombucha are good for gut health.

"But sour candies are not,” Tassabehji said. “They are just sugar and water, and usually the sour taste is from additives or flavorings.”

More information

The Minnesota Dental Association has more on the effects of sour candy on oral health.

SOURCE: Tufts University, news release, Oct. 28, 2025