We at Harmony Orthodontics in Gresham and Sandy, OR, are committed to providing you with the best orthodontic care possible. We know that includes giving accurate and helpful details concerning your orthodontic treatment.
The road to a beautiful new smile begins with orthodontic treatment, and we must travel it together. Your orthodontist recommends that you forgo these foods while you are getting orthodontic treatment because they can negatively affect the alignment of your teeth.
Sticky Foods
One of the worst things you can eat with braces is anything sticky, such as soft candy, toffee, gum, gummy candies, Nutella, and other sweets. For a good reason, too: they can knock off your archwire and brackets, get stuck in your braces and lead to cavities, and make a huge mess in your mouth that’s difficult to clean up.
This is an issue with all products that are chewy or crunchy; therefore, you should avoid them. Sweets should be avoided at all costs because the sugar in them can cause cavities, even in the brackets’ hard-to-reach recesses and surfaces.
Sugary Foods & Drinks
Sugary foods are high in carbohydrates and sugars, such as cookies, cake, ice cream, and candy. Due to the high levels of sugar in these foods, dental plaque produces more acid, which can lead to the development of cavities or the formation of permanent white spots on teeth due to a process known as decalcification.
If you keep your kitchen clean and choose your meals carefully, you can avoid these markings entirely. The acid in sugary liquids like Gatorade, Propel, soda, and sweet tea can also erode tooth enamel. Protect your teeth and the white area around your braces by maintaining a regular dental hygiene routine and limiting your intake of acidic beverages.
Hard & Tough Foods
Don’t eat anything that’ll hurt your jaw or force you to gnaw on it for a while. While raw vegetables benefit your health, they can cause damage to your braces if they aren’t grated first. This is because the wires and brackets can be pulled out of place, and the braces can become dislodged. Also good is hard, crusty slices of bread and pizzas, as well as nuts.
Consuming these foods can significantly delay treatment, increase the total cost of treatment, and cause major complications. Tough foods, such as beef jerky, can dislodge wires and brackets, reducing the effectiveness of treatment, and can dislodge brackets or wires, resulting in device failure or displacement.
Acidic beverages
Drinking acidic liquids, including soft drinks, diet soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and lemonade, is not a good idea while wearing braces. Even after having their braces taken off, some people still see white spots on their teeth. These areas are where minerals have been lost from the enamel, making them susceptible to decay from germs. Likely, the next white patches won’t go away.
Dense & Chewy Bread
Tortillas, soft breadsticks, and robust sandwich bread are all good options for those with braces, but there are several you should avoid. Bracket accumulation can be a problem with some thin, chewy loaves. Tough to chew and potentially painful for people with braces, thick, dense bread should be avoided.
Bread that fits the definition of being dense and chewy includes:
- Bagels.
- Baguettes.
- Hard rolls.
- Crispy crust on the pizza.
- Dense sandwich bread.
The Best Orthodontists in Gresham and Sandy Are Waiting to See You!
Ask the experts at https://smileinharmony.com/ about what you can and cannot eat with braces. Our office’s comprehensive orthodontic services can treat all sorts of orthodontic problems. Each patient receives a unique treatment strategy developed by our team.
We at Harmony Orthodontics are committed to assisting you in obtaining a beautiful new smile through Invisalign and traditional braces. We are here to help you every step of the way during your orthodontic treatment.
