Now that you have your braces, how do you take care of them? It’s important to understand how to properly care for your braces throughout your entire orthodontic treatment for the best results.
Eating With Braces
Don’t worry, you’ll be eating popcorn and snacking on potato chips again in no time! However, before you can start enjoying some of the treats you love, you will need to take special care to avoid any foods that could damage your new appliances.
Foods To Avoid While Wearing Braces:
- Chewy foods — bagels, licorice
- Crunchy foods — popcorn, chips, ice
- Sticky foods — caramel candies, chewing gum
- Hard foods — nuts, hard candies
- Foods that require biting into — corn on the cob, apples, carrots
Foods You Can Eat While Wearing Braces:
- Dairy — soft cheese, pudding, milk-based drinks
- Breads — soft tortillas, pancakes, muffins without nuts
- Grains — pasta, soft cooked rice
- Meats/poultry — soft cooked chicken, meatballs, lunch meats
- Seafood — tuna, salmon, crab cakes
- Vegetables — mashed potatoes, steamed spinach, beans
- Fruits — applesauce, bananas, fruit juice
- Treats — ice cream without nuts, milkshakes, Jell-O, soft cake
Can I Get Orthodontic Treatment And Eat Whatever I Want?
Yes and no. If you have any one of the traditional braces options, it is important that you do not eat the foods in the ‘avoid’ list above. This is because sticky, crunchy, or chewy foods can get stuck in-between the wires of your braces. With the food secured to your teeth, sugars and bacteria from the food begin to eat away the surface of your tooth causing decay. This is why many patients develop cavities during their orthodontic treatment.
