Here鈥檚 a new Halloween practice some dentists see as a treat: Halloween candy buybacks.
Once the little ones have finished trick-or-treating this year, Austin pediatric dentists are ready to buy back their Halloween candy 鈥� at a buck a pound.
The buyback program is a part of . Annually, Operation Gratitude sends more than 100,000 packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and letters of support 鈥� including Halloween candy 鈥� to U.S. service members deployed in hostile regions.
"In our experience, the kids are very excited about sending their candy off to overseas,鈥� says Dr. Regina Jensen, one of the participating dentists this year. 鈥淎nd of course, the money earned definitely helps put a smile of any kid's face!鈥�
Naturally, the dental community also sees Operation Gratitude鈥檚 as a way to help parents to limit their children's Halloween sugar intake.
"After the sheer joy of collecting all that candy on Halloween night subsides, the reality sets in,鈥� Jensen says. 鈥淚t's just way too much candy, so kids can put all that excess candy to good use."
You can for a list of Austin-area offices ready to buy sweets.
Since the program was created, the dental community has sent almost one million care packages to U.S. military overseas.
