Braces often present an interesting challenge; wearers can’t seem to grasp how they should effectively take care of them. Cleaning presents the biggest task, but it can be much easier if you watch what you eat. Any dentist will tell you that of all dental appliances, braces require the utmost care. Braces have some hard-to-reach areas that can’t be cleaned even with through brushing. Therefore, you have to learn to avoid certain types of food unless you want your braces to break or to become a haven for all kinds of germs and bacteria.
First things first, once your braces have been applied orthodontists recommend that you eat soft, well-cooked, easy to chew foods. Some foods can damage, loosen, or even break the braces. So, what kind of foods should you avoid?
• Foods which are tough to bite – Close to 80% of breakages of orthodontic appliances are caused by hard foods. Braces are made using tough metal and wire, but not tough enough to avoid breakage. If temptations get the better of you, and you just have to eat that beef jerky, attempt to direct the force of the bite to the 1st and 2nd molars. Avoid biting with the front teeth because this will loosen the braces.
• Avoid Chewing Gum – You really don’t want to spend half of your day trying to pick out gum from your teeth. You are going to have to forget all about gum throughout the period that you have braces on.
• Stay away from hard and sticky candy – These have a tendency to stick to the wires. Candies that fall into this category include gummy candy, caramel and taffy.
• Hard rolls and bagels have to go because they also bend the wire. Pizza crust also falls into this category, just the crust though; a piece of pizza is still okay.
• Acidic drinks and food – braces are made of metal, and metal and acids don’t really get along.
• Popcorn – it is hard to clean out popcorn from teeth without braces, and it is even a harder task to clean popcorn out of the braces. Kernels tend to get caught in the gums causing gum infections.
Most foods can still be eaten, but patients wearing braces should take extra steps to make them friendlier to the braces. They include:
• Meat – it is a good idea to cut meat into smaller pieces.
• Crunchy fruits such as apples – these fruits should be cut into smaller pieces. Better yet, drink fruit juice instead.
• Hard cookies – soften with milk. This also goes for other hard, flour-based treats.
• Sugary beverages –Always brush your teeth right after taking any kind of candy or sugary beverages. It is probably the best to limit these drinks to just one or two per week.
Remember if you have braces and you avoid all of these foods, the rule of thumb still remains – brush your teeth after every meal and right before going to bed. People who don’t have braces can get away with brushing their teeth only once or twice, but if you have braces it is imperative that you carry around a toothbrush and brush at least three times per day.
