What Can I Eat With Braces?
At Westwalk Orthodontics, it is our joy and privilege to help our patients on their journeys to straighter, healthier smiles. As board-certified orthodontists, we are committed to the highest levels of orthodontic care and offer cutting-edge treatment options. If you are an adult or the parent of a teenager looking to get dental braces in Darien, we want to make sure that the perfect smile we help you achieve lasts a lifetime. Today we want to talk about exactly what your teen can do to make sure you take care of both their braces and smile during their treatment time.
Whether you have decided on treatment for yourself, or if it’s your teen who is after a straight and healthy smile with the help of orthodontics it is important that you know that treatment with braces in Darien requires dedication, care, and consistency for the best results.
Life with braces can demand a lot of time and extra care when it comes to oral hygiene which may seem only harder when you consider certain dietary restrictions your teen will need to follow. But don’t worry. It’s not as hard as your teenager might think.
What Can I Eat Right After Getting Braces?
Braces can drastically improve your teen’s teeth, but it can take them days or weeks to adjust to the extra pressure on their teeth. It will be normal for your teen to feel some pain or irritation around their teeth and gums during the first few days.
However, the hardest adjustment your teenager will have to make is giving up some of the foods they love while wearing braces to ensure that their braces aren’t damaged nor that they cause added discomfort inside their mouth.
Since we don’t want to scare you or your teen away from the idea of braces, let’s start with a list of braces-friendly foods that they can totally eat without worrying about causing any sort of damage or irritation.
Ideal foods to eat the first few days after getting braces to include:
- Mashed potatoes
- Yogurt
- Soups
- Scrambled eggs
- Oatmeal
- Grains
- Seafood
- Soft fruits
- Soft cheeses
- Cooked or soft vegetables
- Moist desserts
- Pasta
Basically, anything that is soft and easy to chew. After a couple of days, the discomfort and sensitivity will subside, and your teen will be able to go on slowly to eating other foods.
What Foods Should Be Avoided Right After Getting Braces
Just as important as knowing what foods are okay to eat the first days after getting braces is knowing what foods your teen needs to avoid completely at any stage of their treatment with braces.
Some usually “safe” foods might not be ideal immediately after getting braces since they can irritate your kid’s mouth, causing too much pressure and sensitivity.
Foods your teenager should avoid right after getting braces include:
- Ice cream
- Thick rolls or bread
- Thicker cuts of meats
- Spicy foods
- Citrus foods
In short, anything too sticky, chewy, or acidic is best if not consumed until your teen gets used to the pressure put on their teeth by their orthodontic device.
At this point, you might be feeling more comfortable with the thought of the diet restrictions your teen will face while wearing braces. The truth is it may seem difficult at first, but with some time and patience, it gets easier.
How To Avoid Orthodontic Emergencies?
As a parent, you will need to help your teen remember that while wearing braces they have to be careful not to damage their braces. After all, if a bracket or wire becomes loose, you will have an orthodontic emergency at hand which may result in unwanted pain, and discomfort to your teen. Orthodontic emergencies can also slow down overall treatment time.
In order to avoid common orthodontic emergencies aside from avoiding any possible type of trauma to the face or mouth, it is important for your teenager to be mindful that braces are sensitive to damage, so, unfortunately at Westwalk Orthodontics, we recommend that your teen avoids certain foods for as long as are in treatment with dental braces in Darien.
The completely off-limits foods include sticky and hard foods that can damage the wires or bands or even cause brackets to separate from your teen’s teeth.
Foods to completely avoid with braces include
- Popcorn
- Nuts
- Ice cubes
- Chewing gum
- Hard candy
- Chewy candy
- Hard crackers
- Pretzels
- Chips
It is also crucial that you limit the consumption of sugary foods and drinks while your teen deals with braces. Remember that when sugar mixes with saliva, it creates a sticky film we call plaque.
If plaque is not removed with a proper oral hygiene routine, it can turn to tooth decay, causing other unwanted dental issues which can slow down your teenager’s orthodontic treatment or compromise the final results of their treatment.
Remember, orthodontic treatment takes time and dedication, but the results are worth the effort. We are sure your teen will be happy once they see their perfectly straight and healthy smile in the mirror the day their braces are removed.
They will surely feel like a million dollars! Have questions? Schedule an in-office consultation with one of our board-certified orthodontists for your teenager today. We look forward to meeting you.