More than 132 youngsters brought in their candy to Happy Kids Dentistry for the Halloween candy buyback.

The Longview dental office paid out $1 per pound for 500 pounds of sugary treats, said dental office manager Meke Johnson. As of Friday afternoon, Johnson was preparing about 20 boxes of sweets to send to Operation Gratitude, an California nonprofit that sends care packages to troops overseas.

Johnson said the event “went very well,” and dentist Dr. Hani Eid was pleased with the turnout.

“It was more than we expected, but that was good,” Johnson said.

In addition to paying the children $1 per pound for their treats, the office gave each child a toothbrush and a coupon for a free kids meal at Applebee’s. The youngsters were entered into a contest for an iPod Shuffle. The winner was Taylor Gould.

The dental office also received $157 in donations to help cover postage costs for the boxes.

“Some of the kids took the money that we gave them for the buyback and gave it back,” Johnson said. “(They) said, ‘Use it for the shipping.’ ”