Best Foods to Eat and Damaging Foods to Avoid with Braces

December 28, 2017, Koch Orthodontics

Even though modern braces are designed to stay sturdy and last long, you still need to take care of them if you want the best possible results. Your family orthodontist may want you to change your eating habits to make your transition seamless and ensure your treatment goes smoothly. Learning what you should eat and can’t eat makes it much easier to live with braces.

Top 10 Foods to Eat With Braces for a Healthy Smile
With so many do’s and don’ts that accompany eating with braces, you may feel confined but there are plenty of food options that you can eat freely while wearing braces and they include:

1. Soft Fruits
With new braces, your family orthodontists may want to modify your eating habits by asking you to start with soft fruits like melons, grapes, tangerines, strawberries, peaches, plums, kiwi and grapefruit.

2. Sea Food
You also have plenty of healthy and scrumptious options like salmon, tuna, and boneless fish to tantalize your taste buds. 

3. Smoothies and Shakes
You can make eating with braces easy and enjoyable with green smoothies and luscious shakes. These non-chewy delights offer a convenient, protein-rich option for a delicious, filling meal. 

4. Steamed Vegetables
If steamed veggies sound boring to you, you can make them interesting by smothering them in butter, tossing them in fresh herbs, adding sliced garlic, and a little bit of lemon zest. You can perk things up by adding soy sauce or fish sauce.  

5. Soft Meats
Soft meatballs, tender turkey and meat loaf are easy to chew and make a perfect protein choice. You can also cut soft meat into smaller pieces and add it to your soups.  

6. Eggs
There is just so much you can do to eggs – scrambled eggs, quiche, or omelettes! Having to change your eating habits is a perfect excuse to try a new staple every day.

7. Dairy and Desserts
Soft cheese, flavored yogurt, pudding, custard, applesauce, and ice cream – all have a soft texture and require little chewing when eating with braces. 

8. Breads
You can have soft breads, muffins, pancakes, and tortillas during your orthodontic treatment. 

9. Macaroni, Spaghetti, and Noodle Dishes
Creamy pastas, casseroles, ravioli, mashed potatoes; noodles and spaghetti make delicious soft food meals and help maintain the good condition of your braces.

10. Soft-cooked Rice and Beans
Cooked rice and beans are great foods to eat with braces. They require little chewing and help you maintain a nutritious, healthy diet that is important not only for your oral but also your overall health.

Top 10 Foods to Avoid when Eating with Braces
The general rule of thumb when eating with braces is to avoid sweet, sticky, chewy, hard, crunchy, gooey, and thick foods.

1. Raw Vegetables
Raw vegetables can wedge themselves beneath the braces and cause decay.

2. Corn on the Cob
When you are eating with braces, you should avoid biting into something because that can damage the wires.

3. Firm Fruits
Firm fruits are great for your body but if you are eating with braces, they can engulf the brackets pulling them away from the teeth causing discomfort and inviting unwanted expenses.

4. Nuts
If firm fruits can be bad for your braces, you can imagine what hard nuts would do to your metal braces.

5. Hard Candies and Sticky Sweets
Candies are sticky and hard enough to force the wires out of alignment, calling for an emergency visit to fix the issue.

6. Sugary Foods
High-sugar foods and beverages have a very high acid content which can result in tooth decay and damaged braces.

7. Chewy Bread and Pizza Crusts
Biting into chewy pizza crusts and hard breads with your front teeth is not recommended when you are wearing braces because they put extra strain.

8. Tough Bony Meets
Tearing bony meet with your braces on is not a very good idea.

9. Popcorn and Pretzels
Pesky popcorn kernels and pretzels can get stuck between the teeth and lodge in deeply damaging the braces when you try to get them out.

10. Chewing Gum
Chewing gum can pull on your braces, make them loose and slowly decay your teeth.

Now that you know the foods to eat with braces and the foods to avoid, remember to drink lots of water because eating with braces leaves your teeth even more susceptible to cavities. If you want to restore a healthy, beautiful smile with braces, contact your family orthodontist.

Author Bio:
Sheron William's day job is to handle digital marketing for Koch Orthodontics in Loganville, GA. With a flair for creating compelling content that clears the clutter and connects with the audience in an instant, she writes about dental topics to educate and help her readers. She truly believes that a genuine smile can win a million hearts and talks to her readers about improving their smiles and overall dental health, as well as enhancing their overall lifestyle. In her free time, she likes to organize small meets in her neighbourhood where she brings people together to discuss various topics that she writes about.
 

Comments