Working towards a perfect smile is hard work; and with all of the time, money and effort it takes to achieve your goal, the last thing you want to do is ruin all of your hard work. To help you out, the dental professionals at Orthodontic Specialists of White Plains have put together a list of foods to avoid when you have braces. Follow our tips below!
Top 4 foods to avoid with braces
- Popcorn: Even if you don’t have braces, you know how annoying it can be to eat popcorn. An ever-popular movie snack, the kernels can easily get lodged in your braces and in between the wires. Removing these kernels can be difficult with anyone, let alone adding braces into the mix. Save yourself the hassle and avoid the snack if possible.
- Sticky & Hard Candy: This one should be a no brainer. Sticky and hard candies open up the doors to ruining your braces. Because candy can be so sticky, your brace brackets can easily become loose or detached from your tooth. If the bracket is no longer attached to your tooth, your tooth will no longer move, which can also cause your tooth to move back to where it began before you had your braces installed. Candies such as caramels, chewy chocolates or jawbreakers are some examples of sticky foods you should avoid.
- Hard Foods: Foods such as nuts, pretzels, or corn chips are other foods that can be a threat to your braces. Other hard foods to avoid include raw veggies (such as carrots), ice, croutons, and corn on the cob. If you’d like to enjoy one of these foods, simply cut into small pieces so that you’re not biting into these foods with your braces to avoid loosening or detachment of your brackets.
- Gum: While gum falls under the “sticky foods” category, not many people stop to think about avoiding gum. Like the other sticky foods, chewing gum with braces is just asking for trouble and loose brackets. Skip the headache & additional money and just avoid chewing gum until your braces come off.
Thinking of getting braces? Give the dental professionals at Orthodontic Specialists of White Plains a call today to schedule your consultation. The smile of your dreams is just around the corner!
