What Foods Should I Avoid When Wearing Braces or Aligners?

Chewy foods, such as bagels and hard rolls, as well as hard, crunchy foods, such as pizza dough, hard nuts, and thick pretzels, can bend wires and pop out of the brackets.

Even healthy fruits and vegetables that require biting with your front teeth can damage orthodontic appliances.

There's a simple rule to follow when it comes to food and braces: avoid eating all foods that are hard, crunchy, sticky, chewy, and sticky. Most of the time, you don't want to show a yellow smile. However, if you eat a lot of foods that stain, clear aligners or orthodontic appliances may look yellowish and discolored.

Or, they may look purple, brown, or reddish, depending on the food. Whole, crunchy fruits and vegetables, such as apples, carrots and pears should be avoided but it's okay if they're cut into small pieces. Sticky candies such as candy are not recommended at all while nuts and popcorn can also cause problems. Hard meats and beef jerky should also be avoided.

Licorice is another food to avoid as it not only looks bad on orthopedic appliances but chewable licorice causes breakage. If you have any questions about what your child can and cannot eat with braces on, be sure to ask your orthodontist for advice. A broken bracket can prevent you from moving to the next step with braces if you eat the wrong foods. Gum pain and swelling are not pleasant so avoid eating these foods with braces to avoid these problems.

You can fill your pizza pie with meats that you can eat with braces, tons of cheese, and lots of vegetables. Knowing the “good” and “bad” foods is very important so that you can take care of your orthodontic appliances throughout your treatment and get the best results. Once the teeth have been moved into position, your child can return to their usual diet (suitable for wearing braces). The main reason for changing what a child eats and what they don't eat during orthodontic treatment is due to the risk of damaging orthodontic appliances.

You should avoid Cheetos, takis, hot French fries, hot chicharrones, hot doritos on fire, Sabritones chips and Sabritas French fries while you have your braces on. In addition to knowing what foods you can eat after you put your braces on, you should know what foods you should avoid right after you put them on. If a hard or crunchy food gets caught between the braces, the strong contraction when you bite can break the tooth support or band. For all of these reasons, popcorn is the number 2 food you can't eat with braces on.

When this happens an edge of the chip may get stuck against the braces and separate the holder from the glue. It's important to remember that there are some foods that can't be eaten when wearing braces but with a little effort on the part of you and your child it shouldn't be a big deal. In addition to avoiding certain foods proper hygiene is essential to ensure that cavities don't form around braces.

Callie Bawcombe
Callie Bawcombe

Music guru. Award-winning tea scholar. Hardcore travel ninja. Extreme coffee fanatic. General internet expert.