Having braces can make it more difficult to brush and floss your teeth, and it can also lead to problems caused by eating the wrong foods. To ensure that your braces remain undamaged and your treatment goes smoothly, you'll need to stay away from certain foods and drinks.

Hard and Sticky Foods

If you play sports, ride your bike, or play a musical instrument, wearing a mouthguard is essential to protect your teeth during these activities. When participating in any of these activities while wearing braces, remember that your mouth is more prone to injury. For this reason, you should avoid eating hard and sticky foods. You should also avoid chewing ice, pencils, fingernails, or other inedible objects. This can damage your brackets and wires, which will require a trip to our office to fix. Damaged braces will prolong your treatment process. 

Chewy Candies

Hard and sticky foods can get stuck in your braces and cause damage. Some examples include Starbursts, gummy bears and toffee. However, there are some soft foods that can be eaten as long as you take care when chewing them. For example, steamed vegetables can be cut up into small pieces before you eat them to avoid biting into anything hard. You should also avoid chewing gum or eating ice. If you are unable to cut your food up into small pieces before you eat, you should stick to softer options like noodles, soups, and mashed potatoes.

Sodas and Carbonated Beverages

Sodas and other sugary and acidic beverages can wear away your enamel, making your teeth more susceptible to acid erosion and decay. This can lead to staining or discoloration of the teeth and may even cause cavities around your brackets. It's best to avoid these drinks altogether when wearing braces. This includes soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and juices. You should drink water primarily instead.

If you do want to drink something with a fizz to it, it's best to use a straw to keep the fizzy liquid from touching your teeth. This can help minimize the contact it has with your enamel. You can also rinse your mouth out with water after drinking any of these kinds of liquids to reduce the contact they have on your teeth.

To schedule an appointment at our office, contact us from your nearest office at your earliest convenience. We look forward to hearing from you.