Food items to consume and avoid during Orthodontic Treatment
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
When you are wearing an orthodontic appliance like a metallic brace or invisible aligner, it is critically important to cut down certain food items. You need to sacrifice or stand away from your favourite hard food substances until the orthodontic treatment gets over.
Don’t worry. You can consume all kind of food items including non-vegetarian dishes. The restriction is only for hard, crunchy and sticky snacks.
For instance, you can eat grapes but you should not consume apple. This is because a bad bite on a hard food substance may damage or break the braces. Similarly, they are effective to damage the arch-wires, brackets and bands in a brace.
You may ask “The braces available nowadays are sturdier, then how will it break?” You are right but the cracks and minor damages are possible with orthodontic appliances. In case of metallic braces, the chances are higher for the brackets and wires get pulled away.
Remember that such damages will prolong or delay your orthodontic treatment duration.
If you are not aware of food items to be consumed and eatables to be avoided during orthodontic treatment, Scroll down to read this post.
What will you eat with braces?
There may be little discomfort levels or inconvenience in the following few days after wearing your dental braces. You may feel soreness while chewing food items.
Hence the Dentists suggest people consume soft foods alone in the beginning days of orthodontic treatment.
The food items that are right for a “braces-friendly” diet include:
• Soft fruits – Watermelons, grapes, Oranges, Banana
• Soft meats – Soft-cooked fish, Tender chicken, Seafoods, Poached egg
• Dairy products – Milk and Cheese are highly preferable
• Soft bread – Pancakes, Biscuits
• Soft grains – Oats, Barely, Quinoa
• Desserts – Icecream, Smoothies
What should not eat with braces?
• Hard foods – Food items like carrot, apple, chips, Hard bread, etc. As these eatables require a bit more pressures to bit with your teeth, it will damage the braces.
• Sticky foods – Chewing gums (including sugar-free gums), caramels, Tootsie Rolls
• Sugary foods – Candy, Cake
• Chewy foods – Chewy candies, Pizza, French fries,
• Crunchy foods – Popcorn, Corn nuts
In cases, if you cannot control your tongue, consider the following measures:
• Slice the fruit or vegetable into smaller pieces and bite them with your molar teeth.
• Similarly, you can consume the raw vegetables after boiling them.
• If you want to consume sugar particles, take them at low levels.
• While eating maize corn, cut the corns on the cob before eating. Don’t use your teeth to bite or take the corns from the cob.
Likewise, you can switch to soft food items even if you need minerals. For instance, prefer milk instead of almonds to get calcium.
You are on the journey of redesigning your smile to obtain an aesthetic and stylish look. Right? Hence, you should care for the orthodontic equipment which is placed in your mouth. Do you agree?
Then, control your tongue for a while and switch to “Braces friendly diet” until you remove your clear aligners or metallic braces.
