What Foods to Avoid with Braces
Dr. Deborah Himelhoch and the team at Smiles in Framingham in Framingham MA treats patients of all ages with braces all over the Middlesex County MA area including Southborough MA, Marlborough MA, Ashland MA, Wayland MA and Natick MA. One of there most common questions is “what foods to avoid with braces?” The truth is there are number of things to avoid because they can actually break your braces. But this shouldn’t intimidate you, the team at Smiles in Framingham in Framingham MA is here to help! It is always important to be cautious and care for your braces so that your final smile can be revealed as soon and as beautifully as possible.
This is a list of foods – and a few non-edible items! – that have the potential to damage your orthodontic appliances and slow down your treatment time.
Foods to Avoid with Braces
Foods high in sugar content:
Foods high in sugar content should be limited. There are some occasions, like Halloween and the upcoming holidays that they are consumed and perhaps in mass quantities; just we sure you are able to brush immediately afterward. Avoid gum and soda containing sugar. These foods have the potential to cause heavy plaque build-up. The combination of sugar and plaque causes acid in the mouth, which can lead to swollen gums, white spots on the teeth, and decay.
Chewy Candies:
Although it might be hard for your child this holiday season, Dr. Himelhoch of Smiles in Framingham in Framingham MA says it is best to avoid these and similar candies altogether. Candies like caramel, taffy, Skittles, Starburst, and even chewing gums such as Bubble Yum are bad for braces. Aside from being very sugary, these candies are sticky and chewy enough that they can actually pull your orthodontic appliance away from your teeth. This will require an appointment to re-affix the appliance and slow down treatment progress.
Foods that you would normally bite into with your front teeth:
These foods don’t have to be completely cut out of your diet, just cut up into bite-sized pieces before being eaten so that they may be chewed with the back molars. This includes foods such as apples, carrots, corn-on-the-cob, celery, spareribs and other meat with bones.
Hard Foods:
Some foods are just too tough to safely bite into with braces. These include ice, popcorn, hard French bread, hard sticky candies and nuts. Biting into these can bend or break your wires and brackets. Popcorn has the further potential to become lodged in your gums underneath the bracket, which can severely irritate your gums.
Chewing on Non-edible Items:
We all have nervous habits, but chewing on other non-edible hard items like pens and pencils can also warp or damage your braces.
