One of the most common lifestyle changes that people go through when they get braces is avoiding certain foods. There are types of foods that can halt or slow your progress, and cause you greater issues during your treatment. Read on to learn what foods you should avoid with braces.

Popcorn

When you get braces, one of the foods that you should begin to avoid is popcorn. Popcorn is a great healthy snack, with relatively few calories and a good source of fiber. However, when you have braces, this snack can also cause potential damage to your braces. If you’ve ever had popcorn, you know the struggle of getting a bit of the kernel stuck in between your teeth. While most of the popcorn pieces you consume are fluffy and soft, there are some hard pieces that can break your brackets. The bits that get stuck in your teeth can also be trapped behind your brackets and wires, and make things difficult to clean. For an alternative, consider puffed snacks such as the Pirate’s Booty brand snack foods.

Ice

Another food you should avoid while you have braces is ice. This doesn’t mean that you have to drink lukewarm water for the duration of your treatment, but if you’ve begun the habit of crunching on ice, you should try to stop. In general, chewing on ice can wear down your teeth and give you a greater chance of chipping a tooth. When you have braces, chewing ice can cause your brackets to break off, or your wires to snap. Breaking a bracket is fairly common, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you have to get one replaced every now and then. However, avoiding extra hard foods such as ice can help you prevent these issues for the most part.

Sticky Candies

The final type of food that can be harmful when you have braces is food that is especially chewy or sticky. Things like chewing gum, caramels, and taffies get stuck to your teeth and pull hard against them when you chew. Normally, this can leave sugar deposits behind on your teeth that attract bacteria. These bacteria produce acid, which eats away at your teeth, leaving you with cavities and other issues. This also occurs when you have braces, but there are more places for sugar to get stuck. Because you have brackets and wires adding extra places for the sugar to hide, you need to be extra careful to avoid any candies that can pull a bracket off, or leave sugary deposits behind. In general, chocolate is the safest bet for a sweet treat that will easily wash off your teeth.

One of the most important parts of completing your braces treatment is making sure the equipment stays in good shape. This means that you need to avoid certain foods and activities that can potentially damage your braces. These are a few of the foods you should do your best to avoid.

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