You’ll be wearing your dental braces for an average of eighteen months. However, if you treat your braces poorly by eating the wrong foods, you could damage them. This means expensive repairs and having to wear new braces for longer than planned.
Here are tips from Greg Asatrian, D.D.S., M.S on the best foods to avoid when you have braces.
Avoid really hard foods like ice cubes, croutons, whole apples, hard candy, nuts, thick pretzels, sandwiches with hard rolls, or corn on the cob. Biting down on these hard foods may break the brackets holding the braces together. Avoiding biting down on hard foods with your front teeth helps to decrease the time you need to wear braces.
Avoid any sticky foods like caramels, licorice, chewy chocolate, soft candy, or gum. These foods stick to the braces. They grow bacteria which ultimately cause cavities. Chewy food can also damage all parts of the braces.
Sugary foods cause bacteria to grow quickly in the mouth. The mouth makes acid to fight the bacteria. When you do eat sugary foods, be sure to brush or at least rinse your mouth out with water afterward. This helps lessen the chance of acid damaging not only your teeth but your braces.
