Summer food is the best! The heat brings fruit, veggies, hamburgers, ice cream, and all the summer barbecue food you can eat. Braces can make it difficult to enjoy the good summer food, though. Which summer foods should you avoid with braces, and which can you eat? Here’s our take.
Stay Away from Hard, Sticky, Chewy or Crunchy Foods
If you have to bite into food, then you shouldn’t eat it with braces. Unfortunately, you have to bit into quite a few of summer’s best foods. Apples, carrots, and corn on the cob are a few examples. Here are a few more:
Candy and Gum
Can you chew gum with braces? The answer is no, unfortunately. Try mints for fresh breath—just make sure they aren’t sticky or sugary.
You should avoid most candy while you have braces on. Sticky, chewy, or hard candy can damage your brackets and wires. The sugar can also break down the enamel on your teeth and create cavities in the hard-to-brush areas between brackets.
While we’re talking sugary things, you might be wondering, “Can you drink soda with braces?” The answer is yes, but limited amounts. Try limiting it to one soda a week so your teeth don’t get too worn down by sugar and carbonation.
Chips and Burgers
Our recommendation is to cut your burger into smaller pieces and eat it with a fork. If you really want to bite into your burger, then make sure there is nothing crunchy or hard on your stack, and check that the bun is soft.
You’ll probably get bread jammed between every bracket, but that’s nothing a little wash, rinse, and repeat can’t fix. Just be sure to protect your braces while eating.
Now chips. Thin chips are perfectly fine to eat with braces. You should stay away from thick potato or tortilla chips, though. Biting into them could seriously damage your brackets and wires.
Fruit and Vegetables
If you can cut your food into bite-sized pieces, then you can probably eat it with braces. Just watch out for super hard fruits and vegetables.
Take corn on the cob, for example. Just cut the corn off the cob and eat it with a fork! Or apples. Cut them into super small pieces and just make sure you don’t bite down right on a bracket or wire. On the veggie tray above, you could eat everything except the carrots and almonds.
Take a break from carrots while you have your braces on unless they’re cooked and softened.
Summer Foods You Can Eat With Braces:
- Hamburgers
- Hot dogs
- Ice cream
- Popsicles
- Bread
- Vegetables
- Pizza
- Soda
- Chicken
- Salads
Summer Foods You Can’t Eat with Braces
- Ice cream with nuts or hard chunks
- Soda more than once a week
- Popcorn
- Ice
- Whole hard fruit
- Corn on the cob
- Gum
- Hard bread
- Candy
- Hard vegetables like carrots
- Ribs
If the Food Seems Like It Could Damage Your Braces, Then Don’t Eat It
Just remember that if it’s hard, sticky, chewy, or crunch, then it could break your brackets. If you’re questioning whether you can eat it or not, then probably just don’t eat it.
Next time you are at your orthodontist’s office, clarify with them whether or not you can eat that food. They will help you out!
Don’t worry, though! Before long you will have your braces off and you won’t even remember that you had to skip out on corn on the cob all summer. If you have a broken bracket or wire, then make an appointment with us at one of our Las Vegas locations.