Dr. Thomas Evans is well known in these parts for his otherworldly ability to convince trick-or-treaters to hand over their mini Mars bars. How does he do it? Well, it’s not Rockets science, folks: he gives them an LED flashing toothbrush. Oh, and cash.

It works. After all, these days, every Jayden, Jacob and Logan in the under-seven set knows the value of a loonie (what’s a Tootsie Roll when an RESP contribution beckons?).

For every pound of candy a child brings to the Candy Buy Back at Evans Dental Wellness, he or she will receive a buck and be entered (two pounds of candy, two entries; 16 pounds of candy, 16 entries) into a draw for prizes that won’t give them zombie teeth (a Breville juicer, a Vitamix, a Nutri-Bullet blender—you know, stuff kids like). This year (the seventh for the buy back), participants will also receive a free ticket to a screening (hosted by the dental office) of Fed Up, a documentary about the monstrous amounts of hidden sugar and other badness in our food.

Here are five myth-busters about Calgary’s least scary dentist:

Myth No. 1 The biggest load of buy-back candy Evans ever amassed is 17 pounds. Try 1,700. In 2011, the event hit that all-time high. Last year, it raked in 1,500 pounds of treats.

Myth No. 2 The good doctor eats all the buy-back candy. Wrong. According to his marketing guy, Aaron Russell, Evans is virtuous to the core. “He never eats sugary stuff like that,” Russell says. “His morning smoothie is super healthy; it looks like green sludge.”

Myth No. 3 All the buy-back candy is mailed to members of the Canadian Forces serving overseas. Nuh-uh. That strategy is popular among American dentists who annually join the original candy buy-backer, Dr. Chris Kammer, in shipping thousands of bags of sugary snacks to overseas soldiers to increase morale (but hopefully not cavities).

Myth No. 4 Evans delivers all the donated candy to the dump. Not true! His marketing dude does that. Indeed, Russell endures risk of attack from mobs of angry children every year when he unloads hundreds of pounds of Halloween treats at the landfill. “I definitely get some strange looks,” he says. At least the gulls look forward to seeing him.

Myth No. 5 As penance for taking candy from babies, Evans eats his weight in apples. Not quite. He does, however, donate the equivalent weight of candy in apples to the Inter-Faith Food Bank every year.

Evans Dental Halloween Buy Back goes Saturday Nov. 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Evans Dental Health and Wellness: Market Mall Professional Building, 234, 4935 40th Ave. N.W., 403-286-2622. evansdentalhealth.com. Everyone welcome.