Eating During Your Orthodontic Treatment: The Do’s and Don’ts

Eating while going through an orthodontic treatment can be confusing. You’re used to eating whatever you want, and then all of a sudden some of your favorite foods are off limits. Here are some foods to avoid, and some you should modify to make it easier to eat.

Foods to Avoid

While many foods you can modify to make them easier to eat with braces, there are certain foods to avoid altogether. These include:

●       Nuts: nuts are very hard and can cause a bracket to pop off your tooth or wires to bend

●       Popcorn: kernels can get stuck in your gums, requiring removal of brackets for cleaning which can set your treatment back

●       Hard, sticky candy: certain candy can cause brackets to break off of your teeth or move wire into uncomfortable positions

●       Chewing gum: sticky gum can dislodge wires

●       Ice: crunching on ice is bad for your teeth, and can be even worse for braces. Chewing ice can move wires and brake brackets off of your teeth

●       Corn on the Cobb: corn on the cobb can be extremely harmful to braces. In addition to brackets coming off your teeth, they can also bend the wires between brackets

Foods to Modify

Some food can be hard to eat with braces on, but many you can modify so that they’re easier to eat with braces.

●       Fruits: certain fruits, such as apples, peaches, or pears, are unsafe to bite into directly with braces. Try slicing them up into bite-size pieces to make them easier to eat.

●       Vegetables: many raw vegetables should be prepared differently so that they’re softer to chew, and should be cut up into smaller pieces that can be chewed by the back teeth

●       Meat: meats are a great source of protein, but can often be hard to eat because they can be fibrous and hard to chew. Try removing meat from the bone and cooking them so they’re more tender. Cutting them into small pieces can also make them easier to chew.

●       Dairy: while most forms of dairy, such as yogurt and milk, are easy to eat, sometimes cheese can be hard and easily gets stuck in the space between the wires and your teeth. Cut cheese up into small pieces before having it as your mid-day snack.

If you have braces and have any questions about what you can and cannot eat while they’re on your teeth, contact Tri-Cities Orthodontics. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have during your orthodontics treatment. Located in Bristol, VA 24202.

References

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-you-can-and-cant-eat-with-braces-1059351

https://www.dentalassociates.com/dental-topics/foods-avoid-braces