For most situations, common sense will tell you what to avoid. Hard foods, sticky foods and foods high in sugar must be avoided. Hard foods can break or damage wires and brackets. Sticky foods can get caught between brackets and wires. Minimize sugary foods; they cause tooth decay and related problems. Nail biting, pencil and pen chewing and chewing on foreign objects should be avoided.

Sticky foods can get stuck to you appliances and can be hard to clean off. This is not good for orthodontic treatment as it can lead to different oral problems as well as damage appliances. Examples of sticky foods to avoid are:

  • Gum (sugar-free or regular)
  • Licorice
  • Sugar Daddies
  • Toffee
  • Tootsie Rolls
  • Caramels
  • Starburst

Eating hard foods can damage orthodontic appliances used for your treatment, which can be quite expensive to replace. Examples of hard foods to avoid are:

  • Ice
  • Nuts
  • Hard taco shells
  • French bread crust/rolls
  • Corn on the cob
  • Apples and carrots (unless cut into small pieces)
  • Bagels
  • Chips
  • Jolly Ranchers
  • Pizza crust
  • Uncooked carrots (unless cut)

During orthodontic treatment, your teeth are constantly moving. Eating sugary foods can cause common dental problems to develop, like cavities or gum disease, if you consume a lot of sugary foods. Minimizing your sugar consumption will help you achieve a healthier smile. Examples of sugary foods to avoid include, but are not limited to:

  • Cake
  • Ice Cream
  • Cookies
  • Pie
  • Candy

There are some sugary things you can have once a day, if that. These are:

  • Soda
  • Sweetened tea
  • Gatorade
  • Kool-Aid
  • Drinks with sugar

Of course, avoiding these types of drinks all together is your best bet. Be sure to make sure that you brush your teeth after your consume these things to make sure that you are able to keep great oral health.

Beyond foods to avoid, we highly recommend that our patients refrain from the following habits while undergoing orthodontic treatments:

  • Fingernail biting
  • Pencil & pen chewing
  • Chewing on foreign objects