What To Eat When You Have Braces

Do you have questions or concerns about your new braces, retainers, or orthodontic work? Give Lake Jeanette Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry a call at (336) 286-0200.

What can you eat when you have braces? When it comes to what to eat and what not to eat, it depends on the appliance you have chosen to use for your treatment period. If you have traditional braces, there are a few things you are going to want to reconsider on the menu.

Best Bites for Braces

It is easier than you think to enjoy proper nutrition and a brace-friendly diet that’s still rich and tasty.

Braces don’t prohibit you from certain delicious foods, so take a moment to appreciate our list below:

• Soft fruits. Sweet, and good for you, soft fruits are safe to eat with your braces. These include oranges, pineapple, bananas, and berries. It is also an excellent way to curb your sweet tooth without added sugars and tooth decay.
• Cooked vegetables. Raw vegetables can be hard on braces, getting stuck, and dislodging brackets. Softening vegetables is much safer.
• Tender meat. Fish, lean beef, pork, and chicken are nutritious and delicious meals that you can enjoy without discomfort. Tender cuts are more comfortable to chew with less chance of getting stuck in your braces. Cut meat into manageable pieces to be sure.
• Calcium supports healthy teeth in soft cheeses and yogurt. Slightly harder cheeses are okay if you cut them into tiny pieces.

What Can You Eat When You Have Braces? Not This.

Caring for your braces and teeth while wearing orthodontia will go a long way toward reducing any pain or damage to your teeth. Stay away from foods and drinks that contribute to tooth decay or damage the apparatus. A broken or loose wire means an extra trip and sugary foods lead to worse issues.

Limit these foods with your braces:

• Hard fruits. Fruit with hard skin or seeds is detrimental to braces. Blackberries and pomegranates have hard seeds that bend your braces’ wires. Biting into hard apples and unripe fruits, such as pears, plums, and peaches, does the same.
• Hard candy can easily break a bracket off your teeth or pull a wire loose. Equally dangerous are soft, chewy candies that stick in hard-to-clean places and precipitate tooth decay.
• Hard nuts dislodge your braces and may get stuck. These foods also cause extreme discomfort while chewing if your teeth are shifting.
• Bone-in meats. Biting down on a bone could spell disaster for your braces. Rather remove meat from the bone before enjoying it.

Lake Jeanette Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry Can Help With Your Braces

Even with wise food choices, there might still be times when you still find yourself in need of orthodontic repair. Give us a call at (336) 286-0200, and we will be at your service.