Foods to avoid with braces and Foods to eat with braces

Have you ever wondered what are the foods to avoid with braces? A smile makes your face glow and it strengthens human interactions. In order to have a good smile, you need to have beautiful teeth too.

Many people have improperly spaced teeth, which makes it necessary for them to use braces. Braces set the teeth right. They beautify your smile. But, at the same time, they have their own share of problems too.

If foods get stuck between the teeth and the braces, they remain impacted in between the teeth. This attracts the harmful bacteria which decay the tooth and we suffer from dental caries or rotten teeth as a result.

To avoid such problems, we need to be fully aware of what foods to eat and what foods to avoid with braces. Let us discuss all the foods you can eat with braces.

Foods to avoid with braces (What can’t you eat with braces):

You need to avoid all the hard and sticky foods that can damage your teeth when having braces. Let us look at the list of all such foods.

1. Hard foods:

Hard foods like raw vegetables, popcorn, corn on the cob, ice, pizza crust, hard cookies, crackers, croutons, hard rolls, burgers are amongst the foods to avoid with braces. These hard foods get stuck between the teeth and bend or damage the wires of the braces. The pieces of these hard foods getting stuck between the teeth can also lead to a severe toothache.

Whenever you eat raw vegetables like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, don’t eat them directly. These raw vegetables are really very hard and they damage the braces. So, chop these vegetables into small pieces and steam them before eating. This method of steaming safeguards your teeth and it also retains the nutritive value of these foods.

If you are fond of ice, try to use cold water instead of using or eating ice directly. Also, take the corn kernels out of the cob, steam them and then eat them. Avoid eating corn on the cob directly as the fibers of the corn can get stuck between the teeth and braces and it will be really difficult to remove them.

2. Candies:

Candies are the favorite of one and all. Who doesn’t love candies? EVereyone loves them. But, candies can be really detrimental to our teeth when having braces. There are mainly two types of candies, they are the hard candies and the sticky candies.

Hard candies can exert mechanical pressure on the braces and bend or break the braces and the bands. Sticky candies like toffee, gummy bears, fruit rollups can adhere to your braces, bands, and teeth. It is really hard to get rid of these sticky candies from the mouth by brushing. This leads to bacterial growth over these sticky candies and then ultimately tooth decay or dental caries.

3. Nuts:

You might be fond of eating nuts like almonds, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, etc. But, these nuts are really hard. It is difficult to bite these nuts when having braces. They are amongst the top list of foods to avoid with braces as they tend to break or disfigure your braces or brackets.

If you have a craving for nuts while having braces, just blend some nuts as part of a fruit smoothie or crush few nuts and add them to your cereal or yogurt. But, try to avoid nuts and also raw seeds to a maximum possible extent to avoid prolonging the duration of your orthodontic treatment.

4. Sticky foods:

Any type of sticky food can attach to your braces and they can disrupt the shape of your braces and dislocate the brackets. So, sticky foods like gummy foods, chocolate bars, granola bars, sticky peanut butter, caramel bars, chewing gums should be avoided at all costs to avoid damaging your braces.

5. Avoid biting nails and pens:

Many people have the habit of biting their nails or some things like pens or pencils when they are stressed or in some deep thinking. But, such habits can damage your braces very badly. So, try to avoid such habits.

Foods to eat with braces:

You have seen all the foods to avoid with braces. Now, let us discuss all the foods that you can eat with braces.

1. Fruits:

Fruits are filled with many vital vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients which enhance your immune system and keep diseases at bay.

You can eat many soft fruits like bananas, all types of berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries), grapes, melon fruits (watermelon, muskmelon), grapefruit, nectarines, tangerines, kiwi to your heart’s satisfaction.

But try to avoid eating hard fruits like apples, pears directly. You can either chop them into very fine pieces or make them part of your favorite smoothie to avoid damaging your braces and get all the essential nutrients at the same time.

2. Vegetables:

You can eat any vegetable after boiling or steaming them. But, avoid eating hard and raw vegetables as they can dislodge your braces by loosening them. You can steam and eat even hard vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, etc. Eating boiled and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes are one good option as they are very soft and don’t damage your braces or brackets.

3. Dairy products:

You can drink a lot of milk, eat soft cheese, eat yogurt loaded with delicious fruits and finely chopped nuts. They provide you with the requisite calcium needed for the development of healthy bones and teeth when having braces.

4. Soft meats:

You can eat any types of soft meat like soft and tender chicken, seafood, turkey, fish, etc. Chop the meat into small pieces, cook it softly and eat them. Avoid eating hard meats as they can loosen the brackets and break them.

You also need to avoid eating meat from the bones like chicken wings as its hard and damages the braces. You can also incorporate eggs into your diet as they are very soft, braces friendly and protein rich at the same time.

5. Grains:

All the grains become soft after soaking them and cooking them. You can add more water to the grains to make them softer. Soft grains like cooked rice don’t damage your braces.

6. Noodle and pasta varieties:

Now, this is the favorite part for you. You can eat all the noodles and pasta varieties like macaroni, ravioli, spaghetti and your favorite Chinese noodles without any fear and guilt. They are very soft and braces friendly.

You have seen all the foods to avoid with braces and the foods to eat with braces. I hope, you follow all the advice regarding the foods strictly, brush your teeth properly, keep your teeth and braces hygienic and clean and avoid developing tooth decay and damaging your braces. I wish you have wonderful teeth and a beautiful smile with the helpful of braces.