Nobody wants to be that person smiling with a bright green piece of spinach stuck in their teeth. And unfortunately, wearing braces means there are more nooks and crannies for food to get stuck in. Not only can that be a little embarrassing, but it can also sometimes cause discomfort, result in a cavities, or even damage your braces. Making sure you're careful with what foods you eat during orthodontic treatment is a small price to pay for getting a straighter smile. Here are some of the worst foods for braces and why:
Popcorn
The little kernels and seeds of popcorn are notorious for getting trapped in between teeth, whether or not you have braces. But it's even easier for them to get stuck, and even harder to get them out, when you're dealing with all those brackets and wires.
Sticky Candies
Taffy, jelly beans, caramel chews, and gummies might taste delicious, but they aren't great snack choices when you have braces. They can be difficult to clean away from your braces, and that sticky power also has the power to pull of brackets or mess up wires.
Soda
Soda is known for being chock-full of sugar, which spells trouble for braces. Soda can wear away at the glue that binds your braces' brackets to your teeth, and the sugar can settle in under a bracket and lead to a cavity.
Nuts
Nuts may be a nutritious food, but because they're so hard, eating them can actually damage your braces. The little crunchy bits can also easily get trapped in between your wires and teeth.
Ice
Okay, you may not consider ice an actual food, but it's definitely worth mentioning. Chewing ice is always hard on your tooth enamel, and biting down on ice can result in a bracket popping off or your wire bending.
If you'd like more dietary guidance on what you should or shouldn't eat while wearing braces, contact Stroope Orthodontics today! We want to help make your orthodontic treatment as stress-free as possible, and we're happy to answer any of your questions.
