Sticky foods

We all love having a sweet treat at the cinema, or having some sweeties to eat throughout the day, but it isn’t the best idea when it comes to wearing braces. Foods like chewing gum, toffee, popcorn and gummy sweets are really bad for not only your teeth but can also cause damage to the brace itself. The stickiness of the foods can cling to the wires and push them out of place.

Sticky foods like these can also get stuck in the brace, making it more difficult to remove the food from between your teeth, or inside the gaps of the braces. If the wire does pull out of place, you could possibly be visiting your orthodontist again to put it back in its original position.

Hard foods

Hard foods are a definite no when wearing braces. Eating hard foods like hard cobs, apples and bagels are already really tough to bite into, so when you’re wearing braces it can become an even bigger task. Biting into foods like these can potentially detach the brackets from the teeth, leading to a visit with your orthodontist to re-apply them.

If they are not re-applied within the time then this can cause the teeth to move back to their original position, slowing down the straightening process.

Solid foods

Solid foods like nuts, crisps and hard chocolate can all have a bad effect on your braces. Eating solid foods like these all the time can disturb the braces and loosen the brackets. Having loose brackets can delay the straightening process which means you may be waiting a while longer for your desired smile.

Staining drinks

Although drinks will not damage the brace or disturb the process, drinks like coffee, red wine and fizzy drinks can have a staining affect on your teeth. This means that when it comes to the big day of getting your braces off you could be left with white squares on your teeth from where the brackets were placed.

Teeth whitening can help to remove stains but by cutting out these drinks you should have less of a chance of this happening to you. Drinks like these can also damage the tooth enamel and increase the chances of tooth decay.

For more information on what you can and can’t eat with your braces, visit Harwood Dental Care in Bolton or get in touch with us. You are welcome to ask any questions or queries you may have.

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You can also find out more about whether to get Invisalign or metal braces in one of our other blogs.