A healthy diet means a healthy body, healthy teeth, and a better orthodontic result. Please do not eat hard foods: nuts, ice, crisp taco shells, whole apples and carrots (cut them into pieces first), hard French bread crust
and rolls, spareribs, corn on the cob (cut the corn off the cob before eating), and popcorn. Eating these foods will increase the risk of breaking brackets and wires.
Also beware of nail biting and pen or pencil chewing habits, since these can damage your braces. Do not eat sticky foods: taffy, caramels, bubble gum, or sticky candy of any sort. A small piece of sugarless gum occasionally is acceptable. Use common sense about most foods.
Foods to avoid while wearing braces:
- Chewing Ice
- Chewing Hard Bread or Pizza Crust
- Hard Pretzels
- Apples (unless peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
- Carrots (unless cut in strips)
- Popcorn
- Frozen Candy Bars
- Hard Nuts
- Hard Candies
- Sticky Candies
- Meat on the Bone
- Beef Jerky
- Granola Bars
- Corn on the Cobb
- Bubble Gum
- Tootsie Roll / Bit-O-Honey