food to avoid

Are you wondering what kind of food you can’t eat while in your braces? The good news is you do not have to stick to a completely soft diet. Hard, sticky foods and foods high in sugar are to be avoided. Your braces include brackets, bands and archwires that can all be damaged by certain foods. Hard and crunchy foods can break or damage archwires and brackets. Sticky and chewy foods can get caught between brackets and archwires. The more sugary foods, the more this can cause tooth decay. Nail biting, pencil chewing and chewing on non-food items must be avoided. Modifying foods is recommended. Cutting up your apples, carrots and even hard breads into smaller pieces will help you from breaking or damaging your braces. Slicing your corn off the cob is also recommended.

Examples of sticky and chewy foods to avoid:

• Gum (Sugar free is okay)

• Laffy Taffy

• Licorice

• Starbursts

• Tootsie rolls

• Caramels

• Gummy Bears

• Skittles

Examples of hard and crunchy foods to avoid:

• Ice

• Nuts

• Hard Pretzels

• Hard tacos

• Hard potato chips

• Popcorn

• Hard pizza crusts

• Beef jerky

• Hard crackers

• Jolly Ranchers

• Lollipops

Minimize sugary foods and drinks:

• Soda

• Sugary drinks

• Carbonated drinks

• Cake

• Ice cream

• Cookies

• Pie

• Candy

Foods you can eat with braces:

Now that you know what you can’t have with braces, we can talk about all the good things that you can have! Though there are many things that must be avoided with braces, there are many yummy things that can still be enjoyed.

• Pasta

• Pizza (without crusts)

• Mashed potatoes

• Meats (without bones)

• Soft or steamed veggies

• Fruits (Any hard fruits cut up into smaller pieces)

• Soups

• Casseroles

• Cheeto Puffs

• Pirates booty popcorn