When you have braces, there are certain foods you have to avoid in your diet. Foods can get stuck in the braces or have the chance to break wires or cause other troubles. Which foods should you steer clear of with braces? Dr. Mohammad Izadi of Izadi Orthodontics, an orthodontist in Cockeysville, MD, has the answers.
Chewing Gum
Gum is one of the stickiest foods out there. It can easily get stuck in your ceramic braces, whether it’s in the brackets or wires. It’s extremely hard to remove once it gets stuck in there. Chewing gum can also bend your wires. Even a small bend in the wire can impact the movement of your teeth with the braces. If you don’t notice it for a while, you may add more time to the length of your treatment.
Popcorn
While it may not seem this way, it actually takes significant pressure from your teeth to chew popcorn. When you do this with braces, it increases the wear and tear on them. Unpopped kernels cause extra problems with braces, too. Hitting them at the wrong angle can break your braces, cause brackets to shift, or crack your teeth.
If the popcorn you chew looks fine but has an interior that isn’t popped fully, it can scrape the wires and brackets of your braces. While one or two is okay, having multiple scrapes can impact your treatment. Lastly, parts of the hull can easily get stuck in tight areas formed by the braces. If you don’t notice and don’t remove it, it can lead to dental cavities or an infection in the gums.
Apples
The biggest problem with apples is that to eat them, many people bite into them. Biting is something you should avoid with braces — there’s a difference between biting and chewing. Biting causes a lot of stress on the front teeth, while chewing focuses on using your molars. When you bite into hard foods like apples with braces, it can cause broken brackets and wires, as well as shifting or removal of brackets.
Keeping the peel on the apples can cause problems, too, even if you cut the apples up into slices. The peel is tough and is easily stuck in wires and bend them. In particular, you should avoid caramel apples. The sweet coating instantly gets stuck in your brackets and wires as soon as you take a bite. As you keep chewing, it can pull and move the wires and brackets.
Bagels
This one may come as a surprise for many. Isn’t bread decently soft? The exterior of bagels is hard enough that when you bite into one, it could shift and move the various parts of your braces. If you want to have a breakfast bread, stick to softer things like toast or English muffins.
Your Orthodontist in Cockeysville, Maryland
It’s crucial that you avoid these foods so that your treatment can be successful and completed in the original time allotted. Depending on the severity of your orthodontic problems, Invisalign may also be an option you can use so that you don’t have to make changes to your diet. Call us or schedule an appointment online today!