For the first day or so after you get your new braces, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads and raw vegetables. Before long, you’ll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you’ll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you’re wearing braces.
So, we advise our patients to avoid ANY and ALL of the following foods, no matter the temptation:
- Chewy foods like bagels, hard rolls and licorice
- Crunchy foods - even popcorn, ice and chips
- Sticky foods, including caramel and, yes, gum!
- Hard foods like nuts and ALL candy
- Foods you have to bite into, like corn on the cob, apples and carrots
Remember, too: Chewing on hard things (for example: pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage your braces. And damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.