WHAT TO EAT WITH BRACES – WHAT FOODS TO AVOID

Less breakage will occur by following the food recommendations and thinking about how the foods you eat will affect your braces.  Tougher foods may need to be cut up into smaller pieces to make chewing easier.  As a general rule, avoid hard, crunchy, sticky foods such as:

• Apples – cut them into bite size pieces first instead
• Bagels
• Bones and Ribs
• Bubble Gum
• Caramel
• Chicken Wings still on the bone
• Corn – cut it off the cob instead
• Crusty bread
• Granola bars
• Hard candy
• Hard Cheesies
• Hard pretzels
• Hard tacos
• Ice
• Jelly beans
• Nuts
• Pens and Pencils – avoid chewing on the tips
• Pizza crust
• Popcorn
• Raw carrots – boil them instead
• Soft drinks, frozen drinks (such as Slurpees), sports drinks or other sweets that can cause tooth decay – If you do have these, brush your teeth right away
• Toffee
• Tortilla chips
• Tough Meats (Beef Jerky, pepperoni sticks)