You need to know foods to avoid with braces or you could break them.
The last thing you need is extra trips to the dentist. Although fixed braces are robust, they are not invincible. Like any other braces, the brackets can be knocked off and the wires can break.
Because Six Month Smiles braces are fixed to your teeth, they need a little TLC when you’re chewing on them. If you can avoid any mishaps then it’ll save both yourself and the dentist an unnecessary headache.
Can knock the brackets off your teeth when biting. Avoid biting directly into chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, peach stones, crackling or other foods with bones or stones. Cut them into small pieces instead.
If biting directly into them, hard foods can again knock the brackets off. These include popcorn, nuts, ice, pretzels hard chocolate.
These are foods to completely avoid with braces.
Things like toffees and sweets can stick to parts of the brace and pull them off the teeth.
Raw veg is hard. Biting directly into carrots may be good for your eyes but it’s not for your braces. You don’t have to completely avoid this food with braces – just cut it up or cook it.
Biting into uncooked veg is likely to break your brackets.
Believe me, if you get gum caught around the brackets and wires it’s a nightmare to get back out!
Sugar causes decay. The brackets and wires can trap sugar and increase the risk of this. With proper cleaning, the risk is minimised but it’s best to avoid sticky sugary sweets.
Can stain the elastic bands around the brackets. There’s not much point of having clear braces if everyone can see what you had for dinner last night.
So overall, which food should you avoid with braces?
Just use your common sense. If you’re worried about what you’re eating then you know you probably shouldn’t be.
AVOID IT – If you think it’ll knock a bracket off.
DON’T BITE DIRECTLY ONTO IT – If you must eat it then cut it up into small pieces.
Don’t use fixed braces!
Did you know that if you straighten your teeth with Invisalign there are no foods you cannot eat. You can eat whatever you want, you just take them out.
AUTHOR
Dr Gareth Edwards BDS (Hons) MFDS RCPS (Glasg) is Poole and Bournemouth-based dentist who qualified with honours. He has a keen interest in orthodontics and aesthetic dentistry and is a certified Invisalign provider.