Foods To Avoid When Wearing Braces

Orthodontic braces are brackets attached to your teeth with nonpermanent cement. Though the brackets are cemented onto teeth, they can loosen with excessive force. Wires and bands are connected to the brackets and used to move teeth into place. Pressure from hard foods can bend and loosen them. These factors, combined with the fact that foods stuck under braces can leave stains, make it imperative to avoid certain foods when wearing braces.

Sticky Foods

Orthodontists and dentists advise people wearing braces to be extra vigilant with their dental hygiene. Dental hygienist, Alicia Gutkin, warns that food can easily get trapped under brackets and wires. If the stuck foods are high in sugar they can cause bacteria to grow on the teeth. When the orthodontist removes the braces your teeth can be lined with cavities. Gutkin advises dental patients to avoid foods like bubble gum, hard candy, gummy candy, taffy and caramel. If you do splurge on candy or sugary treats be sure to brush very well and floss under the wires and between the brackets.

Hard and Tough Foods

Braces Review advises orthodontic patients to avoid hard foods, such as baby back ribs, corn on the cob, hard tacos and raw hard vegetables. These foods can damage braces by bending or slicing through wires and bands. Damaged wires can poke your cheek or gum and hurt, or you may not find out that you have a damaged element until your next visit to the orthodontist. In this case, the braces will not have been working correctly, and you will suffer a setback in your progress. It is imperative that every piece of the braces stay in perfect working order to help maintain your treatment plan and help you avoid any injuries to your mouth.

Tough foods like beef jerky and hard rolls can also do serious damage to orthodontics.

Parenthood.com suggests altering your favorite hard foods to meet your needs. For example, soften hard cookies with milk, steam veggies or slice hard fruit into thin slices.

Extraneous Objects

If you are wearing braces and have any oral fixations, beware. If you reflexively bite your nails or chew on the tip of your pen or pencil, it's time to kick the habit suggests Parenthood.com. These objects can bend bands or pop brackets right off. "People tend to put more things in their mouths than they realize," says Gutkin, "they end up damaging their teeth and their braces."