The Best Foods for Braces and Invisalign® Patients (With Recipes!)

Patients often wonder, do braces hurt? Will Invisalign® aligners cause pain? The answer is, no, you should never feel real Invisalign or braces pain. However, when you first start treatment and sometimes following braces adjustments or after putting in a new set of clear aligners, your teeth and jaws can feel a little sensitive. Eating soft foods for a few days can help. Thankfully, there are a lot of great soft foods for sore teeth that taste good and will give you the nutrients and energy you need without causing discomfort. While we’re focusing on soft foods to eat with braces or Invisalign, our suggestions will also work great if you have actual pain, such as in the case of a toothache or after oral surgery. 

In this post, we’ll be covering:

  • How to handle sensitivity from orthodontic treatment
  • The best soft foods for braces, Invisalign or sore teeth in general 
  • A round up of some delicious soft food recipes for sore teeth

Handling Sensitivity From Orthodontic Treatment

Before we get into the soft foods for braces and Invisalign patients, let’s talk about sensitivity from orthodontic treatment. When you start treatment, have adjustments or wear new aligners, the discomfort you feel will be mild and it will go away on its own in a few days. However, there are things you can do to help manage sensitivity in the meantime, including:

  • Making a salt water rinse (½ teaspoon of salt dissolved into eight ounces of warm water) and swishing it around in your mouth before spitting it out. You can repeat this as often as necessary.
  • Taking an over-the-counter pain reliever according to the manufacturer’s or your doctor’s instructions. You can take whatever you’d use for a headache.
  • Knowing the foods to avoid with braces and steering clear of them. We’ll give you a list of the foods you can’t eat with braces, which includes anything really hard, chewy or sticky. These types of foods can damage your appliance. Additionally, eating really hard food that requires a ton of chewing won’t feel great on sensitive teeth, so even Invisalign wearers may want to avoid these types of foods when they first start treatment.
  • Trying the soft foods for sore teeth listed below. As we mentioned before, sticking with soft foods, as well as cold foods and drinks for the first few days after getting braces or starting Invisalign treatment will be super helpful.

The Best Soft Foods for Braces or Invisalign Patients

Okay, now on to the good stuff. Here are some of the best soft foods for braces or Invisalign patients who are experiencing sensitivity, or anyone with sore teeth:

  • Oatmeal
  • Cream of wheat
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Pancakes
  • French toast 
  • Yogurt
  • Cottage cheese
  • Applesauce
  • Cooked fruit
  • Fruit cups
  • Very ripe fruit like bananas or peaches that have been cut into small pieces
  • 100% fruit juice with no sugar added
  • Soft sandwich bread
  • Peanut butter
  • Egg salad, chicken salad or tuna salad
  • Cooked beans or refried beans
  • Meatloaf
  • Soft-cooked, shredded meat
  • Soft-cooked, ground meat
  • Tofu 
  • Cooked tempeh
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Steamed or cooked vegetables
  • Couscous
  • Soft-cooked rice
  • Quinoa
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Pasta and noodles
  • Soft cheeses
  • Soup with soft vegetables
  • Avocado 
  • Hummus
  • Soft tortilla shells (steam or microwave them first)
  • Smoothies
  • Protein shakes
  • Milkshakes
  • Ice cream and sorbet
  • Pudding and custard
  • Jell-O

Soft Food Recipes for Sore Teeth

Now that you know the foods you can eat with braces or Invisalign, we thought we’d share some orthodontist-approved soft food recipes for sore teeth:

  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Overnight Oats from Eating With Clarity – These overnight oats are simple to make and you’ll wake up to a nutritious, delicious breakfast that’s easy on your teeth. If you’re allergic to peanuts, try using an alternative like Sunbutter.
  • Cold-Day Chicken Noodle Soup from Taste of Home – Soup is really one of the best foods to eat with braces or Invisalign when you start treatment. With this chicken noodle soup, you’ll get lean protein and vegetables. Plus, it doesn’t get much more comforting.
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Scrambled Eggs – These scrambled eggs take a little more hands-on work than you might be used to but they’re well worth the effort. Gordon Ramsay’s technique leads to the tastiest, softest scrambled eggs, making them ideal for sensitive teeth (or just Sunday breakfast).
  • Banana Spinach Protein Smoothie from Garnish With Lemon – When considering soft food recipes for sore teeth, look for ones that are nutrient dense. This way, you’re still covering all of your nutritional bases even if you’re not chewing as much as you normally do. This green smoothie fits the bill. It has fruit, veggies, protein and calcium, and you won’t taste the spinach!
  • Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta from Two Peas & Their Pod – Butternut squash makes a healthy, creamy and surprisingly decadent sauce. To make this dish even easier to chew, you can swap out the linguine for a smaller pasta like elbow macaroni.

Hopefully, our list of soft foods for braces and Invisalign patients, and the accompanying recipes, will help you continue to eat the foods you love even if your mouth is feeling sensitive. After seeing all of the delicious choices, are you ready to learn more about your options for braces or Invisalign in Houston or Bellaire, TX? Schedule a complimentary consultation at Houston Orthodontic Specialists today!