Any type of hard and crunchy food is something you will want to avoid while wearing your braces. Chips like Fritos, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Takis, as well as pretzels and other hard breads are foods that can not only damage your wire, but also cause your brackets to break.
Can I eat chips with braces? Yes, you just need to select the right ones. Pringles, “baked” chips and Cheeto Puffs/Fries are great braces options for chips. Just try to remember to eat ONE CHIP AT A TIME, so that you don't accidentally break a bracket.
Can you eat potato chips with braces? If the potato chips are hard and crunchy, it's best to avoid them while wearing braces. Baked potato chips are generally OK to eat. Remember to eat one chip at a time, not a handful at once.
What junk food can you eat with braces? You can eat any junk food that isn't too hard or sticky. Top options include ice cream, frozen yogurt, soft cookies, and chocolate. If you're looking for healthy junk food alternatives that are safe for braces, Zollipops are a great choice.
Hard Foods
The first type of food that you should avoid when you're wearing braces is any kind of hard food. Hard foods can break or damage the wires and brackets in your braces.
Yes – you may eat fries – but you need to make sure that you're brushing your teeth properly and after every meal. Remove any leftovers with a proxy tip or floss tip. Also, don't forcefully remove any leftovers if you are having a hard time doing so – trying repeatedly will only cause damage to your braces.
A: Yes, you can eat a burger AND sushi with braces. Remember to chew carefully. You can also cut your food into bite size pieces. A few days after getting your braces on or after an adjustment, you may feel sensitivity or soreness in your teeth.
Eating hard, sticky foods that may have the force to pull the bracket off of the tooth. Common examples of foods that cause this include nuts, popcorn kernels, caramel candies, etc. Sustaining a mouth injury. Brushing your teeth using too much force.
Skittles® Runts®, Sweettarts, and M&Ms® should be avoided if you have braces, as the shell could get wedged under your wire or pop off your brackets. This can require you to go and get orthodontic treatment rather than just brush your teeth.
Avoid Sugary Food
While foods such as doughnuts, pastries, and cake are soft and easy to chew, these items contain sugar and white flour that will stick to your teeth, wires, and brackets.
“While there tends to be a lot of fear around potato chips, really, they're just potatoes, oil and seasoning,” says dietician and nutrition therapist Rachael Hartley. “There's nothing inherently dangerous about potato chips, and certainly, you could eat them every day if you'd like.”
Flaming Hot Cheetos, Takis, Hot Fries, Hot'n Spicy chicharrones, Flaming Hot Doritos, Sabritones chips and Sabritas Chips must be avoided while you have braces on. These hot chips are hard and crunchy, so you have to bite down hard to crush them with your teeth.
Carbonated Soft Drinks Cause Damage to Tooth Enamel
If you have a soda, please brush your teeth thoroughly as soon as possible. We suggest milk, water, fruit juices, Crystal Light, or Snapple. During sports, it is best to drink water, because many sports drinks, including Gatorade, are also very acidic.
But you should only feel the discomfort immediately after your orthodontist places or adjusts your braces or wires. The discomfort typically disappears within four days, and braces pain rarely lasts longer than a week. When you first get braces, it's also common to feel some pain in your cheeks for about a week.
Yes! You certainly can, as long as you avoid crusts and toppings that are too tough and hard, sticky, or stringy, and eat in small, careful bites. Of course, it's also essential to clean your teeth and the metal wires after eating for optimum dental health.
Taking Care of Your Braces
Milk and water are the safest drinks for your braces. Drinking soda, juices and sparkling water will only damage your teeth, so avoid them if you can. If you can't give up drinking soda, at least use a straw and don't let the soda sit in your mouth.
Mashed potatoes are a feel-good, classic comfort food. Perfect for people who have just gotten their braces on, mashed potatoes are soft and require minimal chewing effort.
This is one of the most unexpected side effects of wearing braces. Some patients report losing weight as the result of better food choices. When you're wearing braces, snacking between meals becomes a lot more effort. This might lead you to cut out unhealthy between-meal snacks to help keep your braces clean.
We have a lot of patients ask how much braces hurt on a scale of 1-10. The truth is, the initial placement of your braces does not hurt at all! It is common to experience a dull soreness for a few days after your first braces appointment.
Mashed potatoes, smoothies, protein shakes, yogurt, applesauce, soup, ice cream and pudding are all great examples of foods to eat with braces the first week of treatment or any time your teeth are sensitive.
You're Still Warming Up to Your Braces
Also, the pressure your teeth normally exert when chewing anything but soft food may be too much for your extreme sensitivity. The braces may get in the way of gripping and biting food, and it may feel like doing so will snap off a piece of the braces.