Eating Foods with Braces – Pick Your Diet Carefully

 

Do Eat

When looking for things to eat, avoid anything that could stick to your braces or get stuck behind the wires. Generally, the softer the texture the better.

• Soft Fruits – Grapefruits, nectarines, kiwi, and tangerines

• Vegetables – Steam them so that they come out soft

• Dairy Products – Yogurt and cheese are good alternatives to tough meat

• Soft Meats – Tender chicken, turkey, meat loaf, lunch meat, seafood

• Deserts – Pudding, applesauce, smoothies, ice cream

• Soft Grains – Cooked pasta, cooked rice

• Soft Breads – Tortillas, biscuits, muffins, pancakes

• Eggs – Another good alternative to tough meats, especially breakfast foods like bacon

Don’t Eat

It only takes one bad bite to damage your braces and compromise your orthodontic treatment. As much as possible, avoid the foods listed below. And when you do eat them, do so with caution.

• Hard Foods – This includes everything from hard breads like pizza crust, to nuts, to vegetables like raw carrots. Since they require so much force to bite through, they can damage your wires and brackets

• Tough Meats – Snacks like beef jerky can loosen the wires and brackets of your braces.

• Sticky Foods – Generally you should just avoid candy, especially candy that is especially chewy, crunchy, or sugary. Gum is included.

• Inedibles – Many people unconsciously chew on pens or bite their fingernails, both of which can damage braces.

• Ice – This is probably the most common culprit when it comes to damaged braces.