Braces Friendly Foods

Braces are in great demand nowadays. In fact – other than whitening – it is the most in demand cosmetic dental procedure worldwide. Everybody wants a better smile and straighter teeth, and braces can give you that. However, braces do come at a price. Yes you would eventually get a beautiful smile, but during the treatment, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome. The looks for one are greatly jeopardized, the very long time of treatment, and – for all the foodies out there – unfortunately, there will be some restrictions to the foods you can eat. So here we attempt to simplify that particular matter, explaining what are the braces friendly foods that you can eat during the course of your treatment.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Freehold Orthodontics (@freeholdortho)

Why are there food restrictions with braces?

While braces – especially metal ones – may look sturdy, they are quite vulnerable. The brackets themselves are made of stainless steel, but the glue that holds them to the surface of the teeth is very week – so that it can be removed at the end of treatment with ease – . It is that glue that is subjected to all the stresses. Say you ate something super hard, that glue will snap off the tooth, leaving that bracket hanging in the air. This hanging bracket is not only rendered useless, but it can move around and damage your gums, lips and cheeks.

For the more delicate types of brackets (such as the clear braces) there is another problem. The bracket itself is made of a ceramic material which may look good, but is essentially as fragile as glass. A hard food object can break part or all of that bracket.

Are these restrictions for all types of braces?

No. These restrictions are only for the fixed type of braces, the ones that are actually glued to your teeth. These include metal braces, clear braces and lingual braces.

However, there is an entirely different type of braces that has no food restrictions (among other advantages), and that is Invisalign. Invisalign is a removable type of braces, so nothing is glued to your teeth. That means there is no bracket that your fear might break, and no glue that can be dislodged. So if you decide on Invisalign, by all means, eat away at whatever you want.

What are the braces friendly foods?

A little light at the end of the tunnel … There are only a handful of foods that are inadvisable, meaning all foods are braces friendly foods except:

1. Hard foods:

   Such as apples, pears, nuts, chips .. etc.
   These can easily break not only the glue layer that holds the brackets, but parts of the brackets themselves.

2. Sticky foods:

   Such as gum, caramel, toffee … etc.
   The problem with sticky foods is two-fold. First, they pull away at the brackets and can break the bond between the glue and the tooth. Second – and more important – they get stuck between the teeth and around the brackets. This makes them impossible to clean, and you can end up with a multitude of diseases such as decay and gum disease.

It is simple really. If you are a foodie and simply cannot live with restrictions on what you eat, then the choice is clear. Invisalign is the answer for you.