What You Can and Can't Eat with Braces

What You Can Eat with Braces

Braces or not, it's always recommended to eat a well-balanced diet for its renowned health benefits. Cut healthy, hard foods like carrots or apples into smaller pieces. This makes them less a threat to your braces.

What You Can't Eat with Braces

If you have braces, it's important to avoid special foods that can increase your risk for cavities or damage your braces. Cut down on sweets, chips and soda. Sugary and starchy foods generate plaque acid and that can cause tooth decay and promote gum disease. Sticky, chewy sweets like caramel, fudges and toffee can also cause wire damage and loosen brackets.

You should also stay away from hard, crunchy snacks.These types of snacks, including popcorn, nuts and hard candy, can break braces or make their impact less effective.

Lastly, your child should also remember that the elements of braces on teeth (the so-called ligatures) may become stained. That's why they should avoid eating foods containing strong colorants, such as beetroots, blackcurrants, berries, curry sauce, or grape juice.

Since food particles and plaque get trapped between brackets and wires you should consider brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush. Brushes like the Oral-B iO help remove more of the plaque that contributes to tooth decay and staining. Or brush with an electric toothbrush equipped with an ortho brush head like the Oral-B Pro Tip. Its unique design is expertly devised to clean more efficiently around dental work such as braces.

Round out your oral hygiene routine with a floss specifically for braces, like Oral-B Super Floss. It can reach more easily between braces and wide gaps for an optimal clean.