Foods Not to Eat with Braces
- A bad temptation
Foods with high amounts of sugar and starch are the worst foods to eat with braces. With these types of food, how often you eat sugars and starches is more important than how much you eat. The food can become lodged beneath the brackets and wires faster than any other food. Candy bars, donuts, pies, cake and ice cream are sugary foods to avoid. Potatoes, bread, rice, cereal and pasta are starchy foods to avoid. Candy canes, suckers and hard candy are an absolute no with braces. A good rule of thumb is that anything that crunches when chewed is bad to eat, including ice. - Gummy bears are bad.
Gummy foods get stuck in braces easily. These foods are the hardest to clean out of braces. Not only do they have a gummy matter, but most are full of sugar. Taffy, Fruit Roll-Ups, caramels of any kind, Now and Laters, gummy worms and bears, raisins, and Lemonheads are examples of gummy foods to stay away from. Certain bubble gums are bad, so look for sugar-free or xylitol gum if the bubble gum habit can't be broken. Sugary foods that are sucked on stay in the mouth longer, which can lead to an extended acid attack on braces and result in tooth decay. - Slice small or boil long.
Almost all fruits and vegetables in their raw state should be avoided with braces. Before biting into an apple, cut the apple into slices. Slice small or cut fruits and veggies into bite-size amounts before eating them straight. Boil any vegetable, such as carrots, before eating. The texture of carrots and cucumbers, for example, are rough on braces. Boiling these softens the food and makes it easier to chew.
