Whether you wear an orthodontic appliance or not, having good dietary habits is incredibly important if you want to maintain good oral health. Bad habits, like drinking soda every day, will lead to dental issues like tooth decay, infections, etc. To avoid this from happening, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone reflect, replace, and reinforce new good dietary habits.
While diet is very important for everyone’s oral health during their daily lives, it is even more important for those who wear orthodontic appliances. Given the extra difficulty, patients have when brushing their teeth, it is crucial to keep dangerous foods to a minimum.
What Can I Eat With Braces?
The best way to know what the best diet for braces is is to know what you shouldn’t have with braces. After your first week of braces, you’ll be ready to mostly go back to your regular diet. Before any meal, you’ll have to ask yourself if the food you are about to consume can damage your braces in any way. Of course, getting the hang of this can be quite difficult, but given that there are more foods that you can eat than those you can’t, it is easier to remember a few guidelines than to remember every plate you can eat or not.
Until you get to that point, however, here are some plates that you can safely eat during your Vista orthodontic treatment.
- Soft fruit,
- Applesauce,
- Hard fruits like apples cut into bite-sized pieces,
- Seafood,
- Cooked vegetables,
- Pancakes,
- Soft crusted bread,
- Beef or turkey cut into small pieces,
- Milk,
- Pudding,
- Tofu,
- Soft cheese,
- Yogurt,
- Hummus,
- non-crunchy nut spreads,
- Protein shakes,
- Soups.
What Can I Eat With Braces on the First Week?
During your first week with Vista traditional braces, your teeth and mouth will be sore and more sensitive than usual. You should limit yourself to soft foods that require the least amount of chewing possible. Soups, porridge, and smoothies will be great for the first few days. Because of the extra sensitivity during this period, it is best to avoid very cold or hot meals and drinks, as well as anything too spicy or citric.
Here is a list of healthy foods you can eat during your first week.
- Smoothies,
- Soups,
- Smashed potatoes,
- Oatmeal,
- Scrambled eggs,
- Pasta,
- Yogurt,
- Rice.
What Not to Eat With Braces?
Your Vista orthodontist will recommend you avoid any hard, chewy, and sticky foods. Anything that you need to bite into, like corn on the cob or candy apple, is a big no. When you chew on something hard, your brackets and wires deal with forces pulling and pushing against them. Given enough force, brackets can dislodge from their position, and wires can bend and break. Sure, fixing these small orthodontic emergencies is relatively fast, but having many of these during your treatment could end up delaying the whole process.
Additionally, sticky and chewy foods like toffee, tough meats, taffy, and more, will get stuck in your braces quite easily, making the cleaning process more difficult and more likely for tooth decay and infections to occur. Similarly, you must avoid sugar as much as possible. Sugar mixes with the bacteria in your mouth to form acids that will slowly erode your tooth’s enamel. When bacteria, acids, saliva, and sugar mix together to form plaque, which in itself can lead to gum disease, tooth decay, and much more.
Here is a small list of food you should try to avoid.
- Caramel,
- Nuts,
- Toffees,
- Pretzels,
- Corn on the cob,
- Hard fruits and Vegetables,
- Hard candy,
- Gummies,
- Popcorn,
- Bread hard crust,
- Tough meets and meet on a bone.
What if I Have a Loose Bracket?
If you have a loose bracket that is causing pain or irritation, you can try a few different solutions at home before going to your orthodontist’s office. If you have dental wax, you can try applying some on the top of the bracket so it won’t irritate the surrounding tissue. If that’s not possible, you can grab a pair of sterile tweezers and move the bracket back into place. Hopefully, it can stay stuck in there because of the metal wires’ pressure. Lastly, if nothing else is working, you can try to remove it with a pair of tweezers.
Whichever action you may decide upon, you should call your orthodontist and let them know of the situation. They will tell you whether you need an emergency appointment or not.
Is There Something I Can’t Eat With Invisalign
There really isn’t. One of the many great things about Invisalign is its removability. It allows you to eat whatever food you want without the risk of damaging your orthodontic appliance. Just remove your Invisalign clear aligners before consuming any type of meal, and you are ready to go. If you are going to drink anything other than water, you’ll need to remove them as well. Even if you are drinking water, make sure it is not too hot, as it could warp the aligners.
After every meal, remember to rinse your aligners thoroughly before putting them back on; if possible, you should brush them and your teeth as well.
Get the Healthy Smile You Deserve
If you have questions regarding the best diet for braces or you are looking into getting braces yourself, contact us at Smile Patio Orthodontics. We will be happy to schedule an appointment for you and help you to the best of our abilities.
