It’s the biggest question that we get: “what am I missing out on once I start using my clear aligners or braces?” After all, straightening those crooked teeth is worth it in the end, but who wants to go without their favourite foods for any length of time?
The good news about food and braces is that you don’t need to go without too much. The main thing is that you want to avoid foods that are going to either stick to the wires or hard and can detach a bracket from its tooth. This includes things such as popcorn kernels, nuts and tortilla chips (hard, crunchy foods), and gum, taffy and caramel (which is soft and sticky).
However, there are ways around that. It’s recommended that you avoid hard fruits, such as apples and pears, but if you were to slice those up into thin wedges, or cut them into small pieces, then that would be fine. The same goes for nuts. If you were to grind them down so that you don’t need to chew them, and add them to something like yogurt, then you’d still be able to enjoy that flavour.
When it comes to drinking and braces, there’s one hard-and-fast rule that you should follow: try to go with low sugar beverages. High sugar drinks can cause areas of decay to form around the braces, which are already enough of a chore to keep clean. There are plenty of cleaning tips and tricks that your dentist will share with you after placement of the clear aligners or braces, but nonetheless, it’s better to be safe than sorry through the time that you’ve got the braces or clear aligners on.
Just remember – the process of straightening teeth can take a long time to complete, but it will take even longer if the wires or brackets are damaged. The quickest way to cause that damage is by eating the wrong foods. If you’re in any way concerned, speak to your friendly dentist at Parra Dental. They’ll be more than happy to provide a full list of “do’s” and “don’ts” around food, and show you how you don’t need to stop enjoying the finer pleasures in life just because you’re working on fixing that smile.