Foods – Hello braces, good-bye taffy. At least for now.

Frequent snacking can be your teeth’s biggest enemy. Everyone has plaque bacteria in their mouth. When this bacteria meets up with sweet foods or beverages, the bacteria create acid in your mouth that remains for 20 minutes after you finish your last snack. The acid attacks your tooth enamel and makes it weak. That’s when the cavities can start.

Part of life with braces is the challenge of eating foods that are right for you and easy on your braces. When your diet consists of part real food and part junk food–braces call for a change in eating habits. Don’t despair. We haven’t lost a patient to starvation yet.

Think if its right before you bite!

What to avoid:

All Gums including Freedent
Taffy
Toffee
Licorice
Gummy Bears
Starbursts
Jelly Beans
Tootsie Rolls
Raisins
Snicker and Marathon Bars
Sugar Daddies
Slim Jims and Beef Jerky
Lollipops and Suckers
Hard Candy
Hard Cookies
Jawbreakers
Nuts
Caramels

Air Heads
Now & Laters
Fruit Roll Ups
Fruit & Muesli Bars
Peanut Brittle
Crunchy Peanut Butter
Popcorn
Hard pretzels
Doritos and Fritos
Any hard chip snacks
Taco shells
Candied apples
Bagels
Dried Fruits
Ice
Popsicles
Celery Stalks
Lemon juice
Biting into apples, peaches, raw carrots- cut into pieces
Meat on the bone- cut off bone
Corn on the cob- cut off cob
Soft Drinks including diet sodas
Pens, Pencils, Fingernails- not foods but in the mouth far too often

Use a blender. Most fruits can be enjoyed if liquefied such as bananas, mangoes and melons. Cut anything that looks too hard to handle into smaller pieces. High sugar foods should be the smallest part of your diet, as well as high acidic foods such as tomatoes, salsas, vinaigrette dressings, oranges and pineapples. Your tooth enamel is going through enough right now.

Green vegetables will cling to your braces as if by magic. And you’ll probably be the last to know. If salad is your mainstay, check your smile in the mirror after meals or risk someone pointing out that piece of lettuce hanging from your braces.

Soon, it will be second nature to you to turn down dangerous foods. In our office, we keep a collection of delicious recipes discovered by our patients. As you invent new ways to enjoy old favorites, please share your culinary secrets with us. More on this website