Foods to Avoid While Wearing Braces

Foods to Avoid While Wearing Braces
Posted on 03/27/2018

Once your Lexington, SC orthodontist has put the braces on your teeth, you’re well on your way toward that confident new smile you’ll want to show off everywhere you go! To make sure the time you spend improving your smile with orthodontic treatment goes smoothly, it’s important to do everything you can to look after your braces so nothing happens that can throw your treatment off track.

A big part of taking care of the braces on your teeth is steering clear of foods that can bend, break, and loosen those bands, wires, and brackets on your teeth. Since you’re not improving your smile with Invisalign aligners that are meant to be removed when eating, you’ll have to learn what foods you can and can’t eat when you have metal or clear braces bonded to your teeth.

Foods to Completely Avoid During Your Treatment


It’s important to completely avoid the following foods that can damage or loosen your braces:

Sticky sweets like caramel, toffee, jelly beans, Tootsie Rolls, Starburst, suckers, and taffy.

Raw veggies & whole fruits like apples, pears, and carrots (unless cut into small pieces first).

Crusty & chewy bread like pizza crust, French bread, and bagels.

Hard foods such as nuts, tortilla chips, hard taco shells, and ice cubes.

Chewy foods like dried fruits, beef jerky, and gum (that can make a big mess).

Popcorn because biting down on those pesky kernels can damage your braces.

Corn on the cob is a food to avoid unless you cut the corn off the cob before eating.

Meat with bones like ribs and chicken wings unless you remove the meat and cut it into small pieces.

Sugary foods and drinks that can lead to tooth decay like candy, cake, cookies, soda, fruit juices, and sweetened tea.        

While this list can help you know what foods you shouldn’t eat, it doesn’t cover everything. For those times when you’re unsure if you can safely eat something or not, it’s best to choose something else you know is safe to eat with braces.

Questions? Contact The Braces Place

By sticking to this food guide, you should be able to make it all the way through your treatment without having to visit us to get your braces repaired. If something does loosen or break, be sure to let us know right away so we can determine what needs to be done. And of course, we’re always here to help so please get in touch with us if you have any questions about your braces.

Just remember that all the dietary changes you make now will be worth it in the end when your braces come off to reveal your remarkable new smile! So try to make the best of things and keep smiling!