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Foods to Avoid With Braces

Foods to Avoid With Braces

Foods to Avoid With Braces

If you are wondering about foods to avoid with braces then you are in the right place. 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 proper 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. Here are some foods to avoid with braces:

Foods to avoid with braces and a demonstration of what they do to the human mount using a prototype of the human mouth.

Sticky Foods

Sticky Foods to Avoid With Braces

One of the best foods to avoid 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 if you have braces. 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. Avoid these foods if you have braces to achieve a better experience and smile.

Sugary Foods & Drinks

first visit for a young woman with common orthodontics problems

Sugary foods are important foods to avoid with braces. They have 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

happy women smiling with white teeth into a mirror at her ortho appointment

avoid foods with braces 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. Follow this advice and you’ll be great at avoiding the wrong foods with braces.

Acidic Beverages

running and drinking fluids that are good to have with braces

Drinking acidic liquids, including soft drinks, diet soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and lemonade, is not a good idea to consume 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. These foods to avoid with braces can be difficult to stop consuming, but it’s always worth it and speeds up the journey to a beautiful smile.

Dense & Chewy Bread

Woman with an orthodontic emergency

Tortillas, soft breadsticks, and robust sandwich bread are all good options for those with braces, but there are several types of food you should avoid eating with braces. 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 include:

  • Bagels.
  • Baguettes.
  • Hard rolls.
  • Crispy crust on the pizza.
  • Dense sandwich bread.

The Best Orthodontists in Gresham and Sandy Are Waiting to See You!

welcome to harmony orthodontics best orthodontics in Gresham Sandy and Camas

Ask the experts at https://smileinharmony.com/ about the types of foods to avoid 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.