What You Can Eat If You Wear Braces

Wearing orthodontic braces can be a real challenge for some people. The teeth don’t immediately get used to the new positioning, and it can cause some unpleasant sensations.

In order to feel comfortable when wearing braces, it’s better to re-consider your diet in advance. 5-Minute Crafts is going to show you what you can eat when you have braces on your teeth along with what products you’d better avoid.

It’s important to carefully choose products to eat when wearing braces. Pieces of solid food often end up in the gaps between the teeth and the braces, causing stains on the enamel and its destruction. Additionally, some substances can react with the material of the braces and cause discoloration of the teeth.

What you can eat

You should be extremely careful when choosing food within the first week after installing braces. During this period, you may feel discomfort and some soreness in the oral cavity caused by the braces. To make it easier for the teeth and gums to get used to braces, eat soft foods, excluding any hard ones.

During this time, it’s recommended to consume oat and rice cereals, yogurt, pudding, Jell-O, smoothies, soft-boiled vegetables, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and soups.

Once the painful sensations caused by newly installed braces have subsided, you’ll be able to diversify your diet. It will also be based on soft foods that are easy to chew, however, you’ll also be able to consume more solid products, having chopped them well first.

❗ Try to chew the more solid pieces with the back teeth as not to put too much pressure on the fixating system of the braces.

Here is an approximate list of products that can be eaten when wearing braces:

• Bakery: soft breads, muffins, tortilla wraps, cakes, pancakes, waffles
• Dairy products: yogurt, soft cheeses, pudding, milk-based drinks
• Seafood without bones, including fish and sushi
• Fruits: bananas, melons, grapes, oranges, kiwis — also solid fruits cut into small pieces
• Garnishes: rice, pasta, noodles, mashed potatoes
• Vegetables: potatoes; steamed spinach; beans, corn off the cob — also boiled or mashed vegetables
• Meat: soft chicken, meatballs, lunch meats
• Cereals: oat, semolina, rice, etc.
• Sweets and desserts: chocolate (without caramel or nuts), marshmallows, cookies, ice cream, smoothies, jelly
• Add-ons: pâté, jams and preserves, peanut butter
• Eggs, soups, hamburgers, and hot dogs

❗ If you have any doubts relating to the safety of consuming certain products, address your concerns with your orthodontist to get more information.

What you can’t eat

In addition to the recommended foods, there are also foods that you’d better avoid while wearing braces. Some of them can break or weaken the fasteners of the system, while others can get stuck under the braces, causing the growth of plaque, which is harmful to dental health.

It’s recommended not to consume these products when wearing braces:

• Hard, sticky, or gummy candy. These are different types of taffy, hard candy, chewy candy, and marmalade. Also, chewing gum and chocolate with nuts should be avoided.
• Popcorn, chips, hard pretzels, hard crunchy cookies
• Meat on the bone
• Nuts
• Solid raw un-chopped vegetables and fruits, including various pickles
• Soda, energy drinks, sport drinks, natural fruit juices

It’s important to remember that the restrictions are conditional in some cases, which means you can eat hard vegetables and fruits by boiling or chopping them in a way that suits you. Also, you can eat meat without any restrictions after grinding it.