Damaging Delectables

Hey, we're here to talk to you about what you can and can’t eat while wearing your new braces! When you first get them on, the orthodontist will list off a variety of foods that you are not allowed to eat while wearing your braces. This list includes essentially all hard and chewy candies and foods, such as popcorn, caramel, gum, ice, stale bread, and rock candy.

While it is smart to generally stay away from these foods for the first few weeks of wearing the braces, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t eat any of these foods. It is a good idea to at least wait until you have had your braces tightened for the first time before eating any of these banned foods. Your parents might not be too thrilled if you damage your braces accidentally after only having them on for a week!

Now while your orthodontist may say never to eat these items, in reality you can eat all the foods you ate before getting braces. If you’re like me, it would be very hard to give up eating that delicious popcorn. Or caramel. In general these foods just get stuck in your braces and are a pain to get out, but it’s nothing a good tooth brushing can’t solve!

Here are some useful tips on how to eat those delectables, but without the damage!

1. Instead of chewing on hard candies and caramel, suck on them first.
2. When eating popcorn, try using your molars as much as possible and stay away from unpopped kernels!
3. When chewing gum, avoid sticking it in the side of your cheek because it is very easy to get the gum stuck in the wires and nearly impossible to get it out.

While all this may seem straightforward, it is worth it to be careful when eating those restricted foods. For example you could be busily munching away at a piece of caramel, when suddenly you feel a sharp poke in the side of your cheek. Turns out you just broke the wire holding your teeth straight. That wire will continue to jab you in the cheek, painfully, until you get it fixed by your orthodontist. We know its annoying to have to watch what you're doing while you eat, but it's less annoying than a broken wire!

- Amanda and Erik