Everyone wants a beautiful smile, which is why some of us get braces in the first place. You don’t have to change your entire way of eating when you have braces, but there are a few types of foods that you will not be able to eat without causing damage to your braces and teeth. Avoiding these foods may be difficult at times, but eating them often causes pain immediately and many of these forbidden foods can cause permanent damage to your teeth.
Whole Fruits
You’ve probably been told that eating fruit is good for your body, and it is. The problem is that eating fruits without preparing them first can cause your brackets to break and your wires to bend. Cutting your fruit into small pieces takes a few extra minutes, but it allows you to eat the fruit without causing damage to your braces. It’s smart to cut all of your foods into small pieces before eating them, but whole fruits can be especially damaging.
Soda
It’s best to avoid drinking soda even if you don’t have braces, but braces wearers should be especially vigilant about avoiding soda. These sugary drinks wear away the enamel on the outside of your teeth. Light-colored sodas are especially damaging to tooth enamel. The other reason to avoid soda is that dark-colored sodas can cause staining on your teeth. The staining happens over time, so you may not notice it until your braces have been removed and there are white spots on your teeth that indicate where the braces had been. Sports drinks, fruit juice and other sugary drinks should also be avoided.
Ice
Chewing on ice is a common habit, but it is very damaging to your teeth. Ice chewing can cause your teeth to crack or break even if you don’t have braces. People with braces should be especially careful to avoid chewing on ice because it often causes broken wires and can cause the brackets on your teeth to pop off. Another reason to avoid chewing on ice is that it often damages the nerves in your mouth, which can cause you to be very sensitive to foods that are cold.
Hard Seeds and Nuts
Many types of nuts are healthy for your body, but they are not good for you to eat when you have braces. Whole nuts are the perfect size to get caught between your teeth and the wires of your braces. They can also knock brackets off of your teeth. Try enjoying nuts by eating nut butters instead of trying to chew them when they are whole.
Gum and Chewy Candies
Chewing gum and soft, chewy candies are very difficult to get out once they get stuck in your teeth, especially if you wear braces. In addition to the extra sugar in the candy and gum, these foods can get caught in your braces and rip the brackets off of your teeth. If you must eat candy, try eating kinds that dissolve quickly and don’t get stuck between your teeth.
Spencer Frandsen is an independent writer and blogger writing on behalf of the Invisalign braces orthodontists of Singapore, AboutBraces.org
