Eating

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#1 Post by **DebbieI** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 4:22 pm

I have only had the braces for 3 days and am wondering if eating gets better. I have been cutting soft foods into small bites and using my last teeth. That and soup and cream of wheat. But to tell the truth, I am hungry. Ok....a good kick start to a diet but I am concerned and what to eat out in public at a restaurant. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

#2 Post by **kvs2800** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:41 pm

I'm in week 3 with braces and trust me, it definitely gets easier. You just have to be more considerate of what you eat. For instance, you can eat a burger but it's probably best (and easier) to cut it up with a fork and knife first.

Eating smaller bites helps you to bypass your front teeth thus preventing you from getting a lot of food stuck in your front brackets. Other foods to maybe shy away from if you're having an important dinner or if you're really self-conscious would be salads (especially those with spinach), anything with a lot of herbs that often get stuck even in teeth sans braces, and breads becaue they tend to stick in your brackets and are more difficult to remove without brushing right away.

If it's pain you're worried about. I found a lot of different soups to eat at first. There are so many varieties and textures that I found it was pretty easy to manage a diet with variety and healthy choices. There are several recipes on the "Metal Mouth Forum" site in the soft foods cookbook.

#3 Post by **Candy** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 6:31 pm

eat slow, small bites, swish swish, and swish some more. I am in week 4, and yes it gets better..although some days I get more pain than others and I have to adjust. I am concious of it always though, and don't like to eat out and avoid situations like that if I can. It's hard to me to keep my mouth tightly closed when eating when I have done so all my life (because it grosses me out when people eat with their mouthes wide open) so...the small bites helps.
I miss enjoying food, even faves like brownies and cookies are not fun anymore because they can be a pain to eat and knowing I have to clean it all out makes it no fun.
Also, I hate it when it's late, and I get hungry and I am too lazy to want to floss and pick again...so it's much easier to say no!

#4 Post by **switchblades** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:27 pm

It does get better! I'm back to my normal eatng habits, with the exception of raw veggies (though I venture to a salad once in a while, as long as I have my toothbrush!), apples, corn on the cob (which my mother decided to surprise me with for supper last night...until I gave her the evil eye and she remembered I have braces and can't eat it!). I'm careful with popcorn, and anything hard and crunchy.

I don't eat much red meat (other than ground beef), but I never really did. I find it's hard to chew and gets really tangley!

Good luck!

#5 Post by **Katarina527** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:13 am

It does get better! Five months in, I can pretty much eat what I want, like others have said sometimes I just tear off pieces, or cut things up. I do eat more on my back teeth, and salad is still a little difficult, but I love it, and still eat it. It just depends on what it is. Pretty soon they won't consume your every thought, and you just do it. It just takes some time!!

#6 Post by **skintz** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:27 am

Guys, the worst thing you can do it 'baby' your teeth by cutting things up small and living on soup. Its not the way forward!

I know it hurts in the beginning, but by chewing, it increases blood blow to the teeth and gums and will help you get used to the braces far, far more quicker than eating soup. Stick to soft stuff at first (by all means, no-one wants to be crying in pain at dinner time...) pasta's a good one, vegetables cooked a little softer, but you still need some 'bite' to food to get that blood flowing. Think of babies when they're teething-to relieve the pain they want to chew on things, or we give them a teething ring to chew on. Its the same principle for us, just be adult about it though, you may get some funny looks walking round the supermarket chewing a teething ring...

#7 Post by **TheBigBrace** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:14 am

Aw, man. I know how you're feeling. I was sooo frustrated with the pain for the first week. I've had my braces for one month exactly and everything is almost back to normal. Like everybody else said, food obviously gets stuck in the brackets and wires, but all my pain is gone. I actually don't LOATHE my braces anymore. I don't even think about them very much.