Braces are great to have when you are experiencing issues in your mouth, including crooked teeth, an overbite, or an underbite. Braces are pretty easy to take care of, so you can eat whatever you want most of the time. However, some patients don’t know that certain foods are dangerous and can affect your braces.
Foods to Avoid with Braces
It’s important for our patients to stay away from these types of foods if they have traditional braces. It is important to stay away from anything hard, including, hard rolls, pizza crust, nuts, and pretzels. They must be careful with crunchy foods like chips, popcorn, or hard crackers. It is most important to avoid sticky, sweet items, like gum and hard candy because they tend to stick to your braces, making them difficult to remove. Last but not least, the patient should stay away from crunchy, raw vegetables and foods that require biting, such as apples, raw carrots, and corn. Those foods, in particular, need to be cooked in order to get their nutritional benefits without the possible risks that come with eating them raw.
The Consequences of Eating Foods That Are Dangerous for Braces
It’s important for a patient to stay away from the foods that are mentioned above, or at least eat them in moderation. If a person constantly eats foods that can get stuck in their braces or are high in sugar, it can increase the chances of developing cavities. This can lead to long-term damage of your teeth. If you also pick at your braces or have an injury in your mouth, it can cause the wires or bands to come loose or break. This will then require unscheduled trips to our office for repairs. Each patient needs to be aware of what can happen if they don’t stay away from certain foods. It’s advised to be very careful with what you put in your mouth. If you experience a bracket that feels loose or if you have any questions about braces, give our office a call. From there, we can schedule an appointment to help you and to answer all the questions you may have.
