Congratulations! You just got your braces on and you’re now officially part of the Houston Orthodontic Specialists family. For the duration of your orthodontic treatment with Dr. Tabakman, Dr. Bloome or Dr. Mount at Houston Orthodontic Specialists, it is important to follow certain guidelines to make sure that your treatment goes as smoothly as possible. So you may be asking yourself, what can I eat with braces? It is important to follow Dr. Tabakman’s guidelines of foods to avoid with braces because chewy and hard foods can break your brackets or wires. We know that it’s hard to avoid your favorite candy or gum. So why do we tell you not to eat these foods?
- Broken brackets can delay your time in brackets by 2 months per broken bracket. This indefinitely leads to wearing your braces longer.
- When a bracket is broken from the tooth, Dr. Tabakman has to take the time to repair that bracket rather than following the original treatment course, which will delay treatment.
- Eating sticky gum or candy will get stuck in the braces also making it very hard to keep your teeth clean which can cause tooth decay.
- Don’t forget to minimize your sugar and soda pop amount with braces. Keeping your teeth clean with braces can be challenging and therefore there is a higher chance of tooth decay. Following Dr. Tabakman’s guidelines will make your time in braces as short and easy as possible.
Here is a little reminder of foods not to eat with braces:
- Gum
- Nuts
- Bagels
- Pizza Crust
- Sugar Daddies
- Now & Laters
- Starburst
- Gummi bears
- Tootsie Rolls
- Jerky
- Popcorn
- Hard Pretzels
- Ice
- Caramels
- Toffee
If you have any questions or concerns, just ask Dr. Tabakman at Houston Orthodontic Specialists at your next appointment or email us at: info@westhoustonortho.com.