It’s common for dentists and orthodontists to talk about all the foods you can’t eat with braces, but there are also many good foods you can eat with braces. Preventing damage to your archwires, bands and brackets should be your number one priority with braces, and eating the right foods can make that easier to do. As long as you stay away from crunchy, chewy, and sticky foods that can damage your braces, you can still enjoy a whole world of menu options of delicious and healthy food.

The healthier you are, the better results you will see with braces. A healthy diet provides essential nutrients in order to maintain strong teeth and tissues that undergo changes during orthodontic treatment. Here are the foods you can eat throughout the day to keep you happy and healthy with braces.

Fruit

Eating fruit can be a challenge with braces. Apples for example are difficult to eat because you can’t bite directly into them because of the risk of breaking your brackets. Pears and peaches often cause the same problem. We strongly suggest cutting hard fruits into bite-sized pieces so you can chew them with your back teeth and avoid causing harm to your braces. The best type of fruit to eat with braces are blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, especially when your teeth are tender after getting your wires changed.

Vegetables

Similarly to fruit, hard vegetables — like carrots and broccoli — should be avoided with braces. Hard veggies can be tough to bite into with braces, posing a risk of popping a bracket off your tooth. We recommend cutting raw vegetables into bite-sized pieces that can easily be chewed in the back of your mouth. Better yet, we strongly recommend steaming or boiling your veggies in order to soften them.

Grains

One of the easiest food groups to eat while wearing braces, most grains can be soft and easily chewable. We recommend staying away from hard grains, such as bagels, but you can soften them up by warming them or breaking them into bite-sized pieces.

Meat

Meat can be hard for people with braces to enjoy because it is often hard to chew, which can loosen the bands that surround your molars. Additionally, eating meat from the bone, like ribs or chicken wings, can potentially cause a bracket to pop off. Instead, we strongly recommend sticking to lean and tender cuts of meat, and chopping them into bite-sized pieces. Some great options can include fish, chicken and lean beef or pork. If vegetarian, tofu can also be an awesome, extremely soft option full of protein.

Snacks

Some of our favorite, healthy snacks to recommend for people wearing braces include nut butters — such as almond or cashew butter — yogurt, sliced avocado, smoothies, applesauce, quinoa, or hard boiled eggs.

Regardless of what you eat when wearing braces, it’s extremely important to brush and floss often in order to remove any pieces of food that may get stuck in your braces. Additionally, it’s important to take care of your appliances, as damaged appliances can increase the length of your treatment process. Your teeth can only move into the right position if your appliance works correctly, and if you are wearing your rubber bands, retainers or any other appliances recommended by your orthodontist.

While it may seem overwhelming at first to plan on what to eat with braces, many healthy and delicious options still exist out there for you! If you or your child has any questions about orthodontic treatment, consider scheduling a complimentary consultation with our office. We’d love to meet you!