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Hmm, good question...I pretty much eat whatever I want, except for the really hard to chew things--such as biting in an apple head on, ribs, buffalo wings, hard candies. I don't chew gum either.
However, I find I have to improvise with a lot of the foods I do eat. For example, if I do want an apple, I cut it in to slices or I cut a sandwich in to quarters for easier eating.
Honestly, a lot of foods can be tackled with a little clever manuevering
I'm gonna marry Jake Gyllenhaal...he just doesn't know it yet
I've eaten chips, nuts, pizza (including the crust), big sandwiches on crusty bread, jawbreakers - even salt water taffy (though I just s*cked on it)...not a single problem.
Then I broke a bracket on a small handfull of popcorn the day before my oral surgery last week - can't get into the ortho until the swelling goes down to have it (and the bent archwire) replaced...woe is me.
The future is no place to place your better days. ~DMB
I still find eating very weird and slow. I find that I can chew most things, but I can't bite into things. And, I'm starting to miss sandwiches and hamburgers. I cut most things into pieces to eat them rather than biting into them. I think this is all in my head, and I hope that I can get over this soon.
I started that same habit when I had braces, and it's still stuck! I find myself breaking apart or cutting all of my food
Damon 2's top and bottom, BRACED 02/22/04 and REMOVED 08/29/05. Now in bonded retainers (top and bottom) :4 wisdom teeth surgically removed on 12/22/05:
Spacers: 1/26/05; 2/6/06; 3/15/06; 4/24/06
4 First Bicuspids removed: 2/2005
Metal Braces, top and bottom: 3/1/05; Debanded 7/26/07
Hawley retainers top and bottom
I too ate whatever I wanted. I broke a bracket biting into a lollipop (omg I typed the S word for that and it came out as "biting into an inhale" i was trying to figure out how I made that typo!! edit edit..) one time but that's the only bracket I remember breaking. A molar band came loose (too many elastics on it) too but thats all. I didn't eat caramel very often, it was just difficult to do. I also cut up apples into slices. Popcorn I never had a problem with. I dont eat the hard parts anyway so I never understood why its a no no.
Paramedic student
Full Braces (all metal) 5/12/1999 - 4/20/2005
Class II (overjet) on the left only
Upper and Lower Hawleys
Wow all these posts sound very encouraging! I am 1 month in and I still cannot eat hard food. Steaks are completely off limits for example. I really really hope this will improve soon.
Oh well popcorn... It's something I didn't eat before braces as well. The thin shells got stuck between my double parked teeth and were painful to remove. I remember I left the cinema a few times to remove pop corn pieces from my completely unbraced teeth :O Same goes for corn cobs. They were uneatable because of my space in front - I hope after braces I will eat them for the first time in my life!
I eat everything. I didn't at first but now I eat nuts and chip and chew gum all the time. No problems so far. I still don't eat things that I have to bite into like apples. I still cut them up.
Last edited by sparklebunny on Thu Dec 01, 2005 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I eat whatever I want to. I'm allergic to every nut there is, so I dont eat those. But as far as apples and stuff, I just cut them into thin slices. I eat whatever, but I make it easier to eat. As far as the gum goes, I only chew sugarless so far, just because Im on an ORBIT GUM fixation LOL! But nah, I eat popcorn and all that kind of stuff. Braces wont stop me from eating HAHA!
Betty Bat wrote:I still find eating very weird and slow. I find that I can chew most things, but I can't bite into things. And, I'm starting to miss sandwiches and hamburgers. I cut most things into pieces to eat them rather than biting into them. I think this is all in my head, and I hope that I can get over this soon.
Totally agree. I miss hamburgers the most becasue my hubbie is an amazing cook. That is one of his favorite things to make. I usually cut my food up into the smallest pieces possible and then get agravated from it then just quit eating, so usually I'm hungry. But since I had my pre-molars extracted, I've lost 15 pounds!
It is better to aim for the stars and land in a tree than to aim for a tree and land in the mud.
Gel
i eat everything i want to except for popcorn, cuz i never liked popcorn because it aways gets stuck in my gum back by my molar. Its was aways very very painful to get out, so i just stay aways from it, i like milk duds at the movie theater.....i know i know, not supposed to have caramel, but hey I havent broken anything yet so i'm happy. My favorite is hand made salt water taffy.
If you give me enough time, I can eat darn near anything.
I just had all four wisdom teeth out 2 weeks ago though, and they "tightened" my braces the same day (10 minutes before they cut me - same guy did it - I wasn't happy) so I've been considerably more sore lately. I threw a mini-tantrum the other day because I was upset about how bad it hurt for me to try to chew potato chips up. (Bad day, don't ask.)
Having my teeth taken out was horrible on my eating patterns for about a week, but I'm back at it again. Now it's just keeping the food outta those holes that were left on my lowers. ARG! I'm at work now and can't get that darn french fry glob out of one side.
I too got comfortable eating things like tortilla chips (chips and salsa is my fave--I could not go 2.5 years withou!!) and steaks. But watch out--you may not break a bracket, but my last adjustment, my wire was distorted. I asked what could have caused it, and the assistant asked what I had been eating. I was honest, and she said to go to softer foods, or soak the chips in the salsa before eating (which is really not fun, i don't like soggy chips!).
SO even though its easy for you to eat, it may not be the best!!
Try salsa on a fork...I make mine fresh though so it is easy to eat that way(I won't eat the jar stuff)...soggy chips are most definitely not cool! I get my braces on in 8 days so I appreciate reading about all of your experiences. My mom had braces and she said she ate whatever and she also said she has been talking to friends at work and they told her that adjustments only hurt for like a day and then you eat whatever. I have no clue what to expect but I am going to be cautious. I think I will tell my self it will hurt to eat *subliminal message-weight loss* I will miss steak though I am a really good cook too, I love cooking so this will be hard, I guess I can make soups
~Luci~
It will all be worth it in the end!
UpdatedSite
Except for right after adjustments I eat whatever I want! Sometimes my dad will randomly not allow me to eat nuts because he remembers I have braces! I eat nuts all the time though. And gum, and the other night I had homemade caramels and oh they were to die for. I defintely didn't pass that down. Pretty much everything thats on the no-no list I eat anyway and I have n't had a broken bracket for a while now!
but I am going to be cautious. I think I will tell my self it will hurt to eat *subliminal message-weight loss* 
I will miss steak though 
I am a really good cook too, I love cooking so this will be hard, I guess I can make soups 
