Eating with Braces

What can you eat? Let's talk about what you shouldn't eat! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads, hard candy bars, and raw vegetables. Before long, you'll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you'll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you're wearing braces. Think of your braces as expensive pieces of jewelry on your teeth. Our goal is to take care of them and keep them attached to your teeth!

Foods to Avoid

1. Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice, jam, etc…
2. Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips (doritos), etc…
3. Sticky foods: caramels, gum, taffy, starbursts, fruit roll-ups, etc…
4. Hard foods: nuts, candy, pizza crust, jolly ranchers, candy canes, skittles, ice, carrots.
5. Chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer and may damage your teeth.
6. You may still eat apples or other semi-hard foods, however, you must cut them into small pieces and chew them carefully on your back teeth. In addition, please limit the intake of sugar. Excess sugar can cause cavities or white spots around the braces. Please limit the intake of soda that is high in sugar, candy and candy bars, and other so called junk food. A healthy diet will make you feel good, grow strong and help make your smile look beautiful once your braces come off.