Getting braces is a major decision, and like all major decisions, research should be carefully and painstakingly done so you can give thoughtful consideration to your course of action and be able to make a fully informed decision.
In a perfect world.
The reality is, there’s a lot of misinformation out there, and there’s no guarantee you’d uncover the truth if you researched for days or even weeks. And you’re likely to be more confused after researching the topic than you were before you started.
This article is designed to save you from spending endless time researching, by busting up four myths about braces and how they affect (or don’t affect) the foods you eat. We’ll finish up with a big ol’ truth about what you *should* pay attention to.
Let’s get started.
Myth #1 – You Can’t Eat a Normal Diet With Braces
False. How this myth got started is beyond comprehension. While most orthodontists worth their salt will urge you not to eat excessive sugar or sticky foods that could gum up your braces, your normal, regular diet shouldn’t be affected at all.
Braces don’t affect most of the foods you eat, but they may impact the way you eat them, including how many times you chew each bite. Keep in mind, digestion begins in the mouth, and to be most effective, food needs to be chewed about 30 times before swallowing. Most people just don’t do that and food is swallowed only partially chewed, sometimes even whole!
Having braces makes you more aware of how you’re eating and even if you’re chewing it enough. So you may find braces not only straighten out your teeth, they may help straighten out some digestive issues as well!
Myth #2 – Nutrition Has No Impact on Oral Health
Wow. This one couldn’t be more wrong. With or without braces, nutrition plays a huge role in the health of your mouth. In fact, it may be even more important when you have braces.
Poor nutrition is typically made up of too much junk food, sugar and chemical-laden processed foods, and not nearly enough healthy, whole, unprocessed foods.
You can tell a lot about a person’s nutrition by looking in their mouth. Poor nutrition has a negative impact on the body as a whole, and one of the places it shows up is in the mouth, in the form of gum diseases, cavities and tooth decay.
What’s the point of wearing braces to create a beautiful smile full of straightened, fully aligned teeth if they wind up mottled and decaying from a bad diet?
Myth #3: I Can’t Enjoy Holidays Wearing Braces
Not true. No one should have to forego candy at Halloween, or a Thanksgiving feast with the family, even with braces.
That doesn’t mean you can go willy-nilly scarfing down Jack-o-Lantern buckets of sweets, but it does mean that you can still enjoy the holiday, with a few concessions on your part.
With or without braces, it’s best to cut your sugar intake down or completely out. It’s just not good for you. But nobody expects you to never eat sweets again, that’s simply not realistic.
But you’re just not going to be able to eat chewy, sticky, gooey-type treats or gummy anything while you’re wearing braces. And you really shouldn’t eat hard, crunchy treats either. So you may be wondering, what’s left?
Try to keep your braces in mind at holiday time and choose treats and desserts that are soft, like baked goods, or ice cream with no nuts or candies, creamy peanut butter, or baked apples.
For other foods like Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham, they’re fine. You can eat meat once it’s cut off the bone and cutting it into smaller bite-sized pieces makes it even easier for you to eat.
You should skip nuts, popcorn, chips or uncooked vegetables. Even corn on the cob is not a problem if you cut it off the cob before eating. Just remember to brush after eating, and especially after eating sweets that may have left their sugary coating all over your teeth and brace wires.
Myth #4: Having Braces Eliminates All the Good Foods I Love
Busted: As mentioned earlier, your regular diet should not be adversely affected, provided you had reasonably healthy eating habits prior to getting braces. In fact, most of the dietary restrictions placed on brace-wearers are good for anyone’s general health.
You can even eat some hard food items, like carrots or apples, by cutting them into much smaller-than-normal bite-sized pieces. Placing them on your back teeth and being careful when you start chewing should allow you to enjoy most of your favorite foods.
One last thing…
Here’s the Truth – Some Foods Do Need to be Avoided
There are a few foods that can cause real problems with your braces. It’s best to avoid these as much as you possibly can while you’re wearing braces. The last thing you want to do is damage your braces. This prevents them from giving you the results you’re wearing them for in the first place, and can also mean wearing them for longer than originally expected.
You really should try to avoid as much as possible the following foods:
- Sugary foods, including sodas
- Gum, gummies, caramels, taffy – anything sticky and chewy
- Beef jerky – any kind of jerky
- Hard candy, suckers
- Nuts, popcorn, pretzels and chips
- Meat still on the bone, like wings or ribs
- Don’t chew ice!
Most importantly, follow the recommendations of your orthodontist. Your orthodontist is a specialist in all things relating to braces and will have recommendations specific to your situation, so you get the results you want.
