Even though braces have a great number of advantages, you still have to take the disadvantages into consideration. One of the largest disadvantages your child may encounter while wearing braces is the lack of cuisine they can eat. In this article, we will be going over the top 10 types of food your children will be unable to eat due to braces.
10 Foods that Child Can’t Eat With Braces
#1 – Hard Fruit
Fruits may be important to lead a healthy life, but they will have a very limited intake of them while wearing them. Instead of serving whole fruit, you should instead cut up pieces of fruit for your kid to eat. We even suggest peeling the fruit itself and cutting it up into smaller pieces to avoid it getting stuck in your kid’s braces.
#2 – Hard Vegetables
Similar to fruit, you shouldn’t serve your kid whole hard vegetables. Instead, you should be cutting them up and skinning them into easier pieces to eat. Vegetables you should avoid altogether include pickles, radish, celery, asparagus, and raw carrots. Unfortunately, these foods will damage your kid’s braces. However, if you still want them to eat veggies, you can cook them thoroughly and cut them into easier pieces to eat.
#3 – Chewy Candy
Chewy candy such as taffy, starburst, skittles, bubble gum, and caramel should be avoided at all costs. Not only are they bad for your kid’s braces, but also bad for their health as well. The candies themselves can stick to the braces and pull them away from the teeth, rendering the treatment ineffective with costly repairs.
#4 – Popcorn
Eating large amounts of popcorn isn’t great for your kid’s health usually, but proves an even worse problem if they eat it when wearing braces. The popcorn kernels can slip between the brackets and teeth, causing you to need to schedule a repair at the orthodontist.
#5 – Pizza Crust
Your offspring can still eat pizza, just not the crust. Due to how chewy it can be, the excess chewing can damage braces. Don’t assume thin crust is a loophole either, that form of pizza crust is just as damaging. If you don’t prevent your kid from eating pizza crust while wearing braces, they can get loose brackets or bent wires, which could end up as costly repairs.
#6 – Hard Cookies
Hard cookies aren’t the best dessert for your kid to indulge when wearing braces. Due to the hard structure of the cookie itself, it can severely damage braces. This is the main reason why your kid should instead eat softer cookies while wearing braces. Or, you can try dunking their cookies in milk, since this will loosen the structure of harder cookies and prevent harsh damage to their braces.
#7 – Other Hard Foods
Foods that are too hard to eat should be avoided when your kid is wearing braces. These types of hard foods include hard candies, chocolate, nuts, and French bread. Unfortunately, due to the hard structure of these foods, their braces can either break or bend, prompting costly repairs.
#8 – Meat Off the Bone
You should prevent your kid from eating any food off the bone while wearing braces. If you plan on serving them ribs or wings, you should first remove the meat from the bones before they eat it. Eating meat on the bone can damage your kid’s brackets or break their braces. However, you should avoid tough meats such as ones that come off the bone until their braces are off, in general.
#9 – Sugary Foods
You should avoid allowing your kid to eat any sort of sugary foods while they are wearing braces. However, if they do eat food that has a high sugar content, you should make sure they brush their teeth immediately after they finish it. These foods include gum, soda, and most candy. Not only can they build up a heavy plaque count, but they can also cause swollen gums and tooth decay, as well.
#10 – Non-Food Items to Avoid
There are also non-edible items that your kid should avoid. You may be surprised to discover just how many non-food items end up in our mouths. Not only are these bad habits that should be broken, but they can actually cause damage to the braces. In order to keep their braces in good working order, prevent your kid from doing any of the following:
– Chewing ice. Ice is actually one of the worst offenders when it comes to damaging braces. Don’t allow your kid to chew or suck on ice cubes. This can seriously damage braces. However, putting ice cubes in beverages is still okay.
– Biting their nails. While this is a bad habit anyway, doing this can cause the wire to bend or the brackets to pop off.
– Chewing gum. We mentioned this above but it is worth saying again. It is recommended that your kid avoids chewing gum altogether. Check with your orthodontist, though, as some allow the use of sugar-free gum.
– Chewing on pens, pencils, and other items. This habit can put unnecessary stress on the braces’ wires and brackets.
What Can You Eat?
After reading that whole list, it might feel like your kid will be unable to eat anything while they have their braces on. However, this could not be more untrue. Try giving your child these foods:
– Eggs
– Soft bread like muffins and tortillas
– Soft fruits like tangerines and kiwis
– Steamed vegetables
– Soft grains like rice and pasta
– Dairy
– Soft meats like seafood, turkey, and meatloaf
– Desserts like ice cream and pudding
The Aligner Craze is Kicking Off!!!
Though it may seem like there are a lot of restrictions on what your kid can and cannot eat, it is all for their safety. Be sure to make smart decisions to prevent any unnecessary damage or impromptu trips to the orthodontist. If you follow the guidelines above, you can keep your child’s teeth and braces safe and ensure the success of the dental treatment. Contact us at Kinder Smiles for all the advice you need to fit, wear and care for your orthodontic devices.
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KinderSmiles Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics
400 Kinderkamack Rd
Oradell, NJ 07649
Phone: 551-210-4012
10 Foods My Child Can’t Eat [With Braces]?