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Foods to Avoid

Hello braces, good-bye taffy. At least for now.
Part of life with braces is the challenge of eating foods that are right for you and easy on your braces. When your diet consists of part real food and part junk food--braces call for a change in eating habits. Don't dispair. We haven't lost a patient yet to starvation. What to avoid:

Please, don't chew ICE!
Ice
   Watch out for hard crusts. Pizza Crust
A thousand times NO.  It will totally destroy your braces
   The hard crust
bends wires.
       
Hard Pretzels are too hard for Braces.
 Hard Pretzels Stay away from the temptation of Suckers & Lollipops. Suckers
Bends wires, loosens bands, knocks off brackets.   You might give 
in and bite.
       
If it's STICKY, it's ICKY!
 Caramel Candy, Bubble Gum 
Sticky goo pulls off wires and feeds the bacteria in your mouth.		   Take it easy on your Braces. Hard Rolls, Bagels, 
Bones, Ribs
  Bends the wire and 
knocks off brackets.
       
No, no, a thousand times no.
 Pens and Pencils 
A favorite exam time food ...  but it will break everything. 		  Like...DUH! Beef Jerky, 
Slim Jims
  Tough as nails.
       
Great wire benders.
 Doritos, Tacos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Fritos   Just not worth it. Nuts
No nuts of any kind.
Will form a hard ball 
and break your braces 		 
       
Sooner or later, it will get you. Popcorn   Big, little... it doesn't matter. Raw Carrots
The little shells get between the gum and band and hurt you like crazy.   Hard as rocks.

It's best to avoid the following...

blue Chewing gum including Freedent blue Frozen Snickers Bars
blue Bubble gum blue Unfrozen Snickers Bars, too.
blue Taffy blue Licorice
blue Gummy Bears blue Caramels
blue Air Heads blue Now & Laters
blue Fruit Roll-Ups blue Peanut Brittle
blue Peanuts blue Popcorn
blue Hard pretzels blue Doritos and Fritos
blue Any hard chip snacks blue Taco shells
blue Candied apples blue Meat on the bone- cut off bone
blue Chewing on ice blue Corn on the cob- cut off cob
blue Biting into apples, peaches, raw carrots- cut into pieces
   

Use a blender. Most fruits can be enjoyed if liquified. Cut anything that looks too hard to handle into smaller pieces. High-sugar foods should be the smallest part of your diet, as well as acidic foods. Your tooth enamel is going through enough right now.

Green vegetables will cling to your braces as if by magic. And you'll probably be the last to know. If salad is your mainstay, check your smile in the mirror after meals or risk someone pointing out that piece of lettuce hanging from your braces.

Soon, it will be second nature to you to turn down dangerous foods. In our office, we keep a collection of recipe discoveries by our patients. As you invent new ways to enjoy old favorites, please share your culinary secrets with us.

 

 
© S. Jeffrey Crews, DMD, PC - No reproduction without authorization.