Metal Mouth Message Board

So I will be getting my braces in October... Prior to this, I want to mentally prepare myself for what foods are ABSOLUTELY off limits while in orthodontic treatment. (I want to make sure I get plenty of them before the time comes)

Note: I'm not a pig or anything, going out to eat is one of my hobbies.

You will be able to eat most foods (maybe not at first) when you have your braces. Things like apples will probably need to be cut into pieces, and things like caramel will be a pain to clean out of your brackets, but you CAN still eat them. Mostly you have to be careful and chew on your back molars. Don't worry, you'll adjust!

There is virtually nothing off limits for me, other perhaps than wasabi peas which are so darn hard (and blow your sinuses apart) that I've temporarily given them away.

I do with corn and ribs what Meryaten does: simply shave it off the cob/bone.

Like everyone else has said, just go easy and find the best way of eating the harder/stickier stuff that accommodates your needs.

Thank you everyone for the tips. I really appreciate it! I'm looking forward to easing myself into the routine.

Carla

I've only had braces for 2 weeks, but my husband (who wore them for a couple years in his teens) says that the only thing that gave him trouble was caramels--he broke an arch wire more than once eating caramels.

avoid milk duds. Lesson learned.

It's different for each Doctor but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Depends on the stage of your treatment. During the first month I couldn't eat anything chewy at all because all my mouth hurt. I had a lot of soups, rice, pasta and other soft stuff. I had no meat at all, just fish. Now after 9 months or so I am able to eat almost anything (besides a steak maybe) but I am careful about hard things like pizza rims and nuts beacuse they can damage the braces. I avoid sticky things as well although I am able to chew them in regard of pain management. The cleaning routine is a bit of a PITA. Especially when eating out in restaurants you have to go to the bathroom and pick on your teeth in front of people... But I got used to this as well.

I guess things that should be avoided aswell are that lovely crispy french bread which I have seen snaps off brackets pretty easily!!! although I do admit to eating it still myself I have to tear it into little bits.. Not such a good idea if you have a filling in it!!

I am a real lover of nuts and foods like banana chips which I find can be rather tricky to eat aswell!

stay away from sticky things and super hard foods. and...don't ever bite anything with your front teeth, i learned that lesson the hard way. i tried biting into a bagel and almost burst into tears, it hurt that bad. i don't even know why i tried to eat the bagel...momentary lapse in judgement i guess.

because food always gets stuck and it's a pain to clean, i find my self eating more soups, yogurts, smoothies, etc. flossing is a bear too. all in all, eat what you want but be prepared to do lots of cleaning afterwards.

I have been in braces for a little over two weeks now, and I am able to eat just about anything, except for really sticky or sugary things...

You can check some of the things that folks listed as their "last meal" before braces for ideas on what might be difficult (but not impossible!) to eat after the braces go on. Mine was a Chicago-style deep dish pizza and a Snickers bar.

I've had a lot more trouble "biting" than "chewing". I think a few other folks have said the same. It's true that can eat most things post-braces - you can cut up some of the things that you used to bite into, like apples, and you can chew most things once you get it into your mouth! I haven't had any problems with brackets coming off (knock wood!) because of something I ate or otherwise, so I can't comment on that.

Having said all that, the thing I miss the most and the thing that I would have eated pre-braces if I had known is a big juicy hamburger. I KNOW I CAN CUT IT UP IF I REALLY WANT A HAMBURGER, BUT IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME. I want that experience of biting into it.

I made the mistake of eating Sun Chips and I broke a molar band. It made an awful, loud crunch sound. I thought I could eat Sun Chips because I can eat those 100 calorie packs of Chips Ahoy and Oreo crisps, but Sun Chips are harder. At this point I only have my molar bands on.