Eating Properly


To protect your braces while you are wearing them, it is important to watch the food that you eat and avoid those that can cause damage to your braces. Follow these guidelines while wearing braces to help you avoid problems.

• Ice - the ultimate brace destroyer!
• Foreign objects such as pens, pencils, fingernails and straws.
• Hard candies such as Jolly Ranchers, hard peppermints, blow pops, etc; the extra sugar will cause plaque to build up.
• Sticky chewy candies such as Starburst, Now-N-Later, Tootsie Rolls, Gummy Bears, Skittles, etc.
• Chewy snacks such as Fruit Roll Ups, Power Bars, Rice Krispy treat, gum, raisins, caramel, etc. These can damage or loosen your braces.
• Tough breads such as thick pizza crust, bagels, hard rolls, etc.
• Hard snacks such as Fritos, pretzels, nuts, Doritos, tortilla chips, hard tacos, raw carrots, etc.
• All ribs, wings, drumsticks.
• Popcorn - the hulls get under your braces and cause gum infections.
• Sugary drinks. Carbonated soft drinks, which contain phosphoric acid can cause enamel staining and cavities.

Eating these foods may loosen the braces and break wires which will cause a longer treatment time.

• Soft Foods such as soups, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, pasta, spaghetti, hot dogs, hamburgers, yogurt, smoothies.
• Cooked vegetables: boiled or steamed vegetables are good for you, but they should be cut into bit sized pieces, and eaten with care.
• Soft candies such as chocolate, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, etc (no nuts).
• Ice cream and frozen yogurt.
• Cut hard foods like apples and carrots into bite-size pieces to make them easier to chew and easier on your braces.

Avoid eating food outside of mealtimes. The saliva your mouth produces at mealtimes helps kill the bacteria on your teeth. Therefore, eating outside of mealtimes gives greater opportunity for bacteria to build up on your teeth.

Remember use your common sense when deciding which foods you can eat, and those to be avoided. If a band or bracket comes loose, please call and let us know, as it is not always possible to repair appliances at your regular appointment without prior warning.