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What foods should I avoid while wearing braces?

We have all heard the stories of people getting caramel stuck in their orthodontics braces and clear braces changing colour from food. So what foods should we be avoiding whilst having braces to straighten teeth? See the list below as to what to avoid and why:

  • Hard fruits and veggies such as apples, raw carrot and hard pears can damage wires on your braces. Continue to eat a healthy diet, however cut fruits and veggies into small pieces
  • Chewy, caramel, toffee like sugary foods. These items can get stuck to your orthodontics braces and when pulled, can break your brackets on your braces
  • Foods high in sugar i.e. LOLLIES! Sugar is the worst for plaque build-up and cleaning is already difficult with braces being in the way
  • Any foods that you have to bite into with your front teeth – particularly hard items or things that need to be ripped into such as meats. These can potentially break brackets. Again don’t need to avoid, just cut up into pieces that can then be chewed with your molars
  • This is an odd one, however stop chewing your nails or the end of your pencil, as this can potentially bend wires or warp your braces

The reason for avoiding sugary and starchy foods because it increases plaque; once this gets under your brackets it will begin to eat away the enamel on your teeth, which will then leave what looks like white stains on your teeth – this unfortunately is permanent.

When we eat unsuitable foods during braces treatment and things break, it means that your treatment time will go longer than expected.

If you do happen to have any foods you shouldn’t, then ensure that you are very strict with your dental health, brush after every meal, floss and use dental picks to remove any hidden foods. It is easy to let our dental hygiene drop during treatment to straighten teeth as things have changed, we can’t see hidden food and it is hard to change eating habits quickly.

If you are unsure as to whether anything in your diet is unsuitable for during treatment, don’t hesitate to contact us at Norwest Orthodontics on 9672 6113.

What foods should I avoid while wearing braces?

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