The biggest fright that most teens seem to have when told they need braces is the thought of living on mashed potatoes for years. Let’s dispel that myth right away and explore the foods to eat with braces. With braces comes the responsibility of taking care of the hardware, which unfortunately does mean a slightly modified diet.
Why Eating the Right Foods Matters
Traditional braces are a series of brackets and wires used to straighten the alignment of your teeth. They are strong enough to shift your teeth into the correct positions, but they can be easily damaged. Eating the wrong foods can dislodge the wires and bands, causing an emergency trip to the orthodontist for repair.
Among the foods to avoid are anything sticky, chewy, overly hard, or crunchy. If you are a gum chewer, ask your doctor what gum is okay to chew with braces. Remember, your dietary restrictions are only a temporary inconvenience. The perfect smile you’ll have after treatment is worth giving up potato chips for a short while.
Foods to Eat With Braces
Rather than talk about what you can’t eat, let’s focus on what you can eat. With that in mind, let’s discuss some food types and how to gauge them for their “damage potential.”
Sides, Sandwiches, and Soups
Almost everything in this category is OK to eat with your braces. Some cheeses are incredibly hard, so you will want to avoid those, of course. Soups are probably all in the good to eat category also.
Bread and grains are going to be a mix. Most flour-based products, such as tortillas, pancakes, donuts, muffins (without nuts), and pasta will be fine. Avoid hard bread like bagels, crusty rolls, and thin pizza crust. For pizza, stick to the pan-style with softer crusts and avoid hard toppings such as bacon.
Meats, Seafood, and Spaghetti
Most seafood is on the okay-to-eat list. Most cooked chicken is tender and fine. Avoid that turkey leg right off the bone, though, as that may be a bit tough on your hardware.
Common sense should be in use when tackling steak and pork. Tender cuts such as roast beef or pulled pork are fine. Hamburgers (skip the crispy bacon), meatballs, lasagna, and ground beef food items are all good. Lunchmeats are all good, but use caution with hard salami and pepperoni.
Fruits, Veggies, and Snacks
Soft fruits are in. Hard fruits are out. Fruit cocktail, diced peaches, mixed fruit, applesauce, and similar are all good. Raw veggies are mostly not good because they are too hard, but cooking or steaming veggies is definitely on the menu. And of course, those mashed potatoes we mentioned earlier are always a good choice.
Snacks are another common sense area. You want to avoid anything crunchy or hard, which means no nuts, potato chips, or popcorn. Instead, opt for Cheetos or Pirate Booty. Soft cookies (without nuts) are good, but avoid hard cookies like Oreos and Chips Ahoy unless you’re a milk dunker. Ice cream is fine, but skip the nuts and hard candy toppings. Milkshakes are good also, as are jello, pudding, and soft cake.
Yes, We did Say Pizza (Sort of)
Pizza is a teenager’s staple. It would be heartless and cruel to take that away, even temporarily. But use common sense when eating. Think about food in terms of whether or not it might damage your hardware. If it may damage your braces, it is best to avoid it.
Contact Centralia Orthodontics if you have additional questions. Use the Appointment Request Contact form or the live chat feature on our site in the lower right-hand corner. You can also call our office at (360) 736-0129.
