What must we 'never' eat

[seriousthinker]

Hi,

I have a leaflet from my ortho stating no very hard foord such as pizza crust or boiled sweets and nothing too chewy like chewy sweets/gum.

He said he doesn't give a list because it's down to common sense but my teeth feel fine to chew and I'm wondering whether I shouldn't be eating some of the things that i have been such as cheerios (not v soft), quavers (type of corn snack, not sure us equivalent) and chewy chicken in a curry?

I wouldn't bite on a hard crust or into an apple but not sure where the line is drawn. Don't want to pop off a bracket.

ST

[luchababe]

I can eat pizza crust just fine, but I have to cut it up into bite sized pieces. I still can't bite into anything with my front teeth, they feel loose and uncomfortable when I try.

[BraceFace2o1o]

I wasn't given a list of things to avoid either, I think he aims that more at children and not his adult patients. But I was told I could still eaty chewy meat and apples etc, but as long as I cut them up first and directly start chewing them with my back teeth. I guess because I have molar bands on my 1st molars rather than brackets, they would be less likely to pop off.

Even if I were 'allowed' to bite into certain things with my front teeth I don't think I'd be able to yet anyway, they just don't feel too great, kinda weak/loose... it's not a feeling I particularly enjoy

I've managed to eat fries (even hard overcooked ones LOL), crisps, chocolate and biscuits and no brackets have popped off... although I haven't bothered eating too much of this because I am trying to eat a more healthy diet.

I'm actually not really looking forward to my first adjustment, because today, on day 19, I have 0 discomfort and no teeth are sore anymore! I will have just 4-5 days for the soreness to ease before my lovely Christmas dinner! hahaha. I know I keep going on about it, but it only comes round once a year and I want to enjoy it!

[kaylaa]

I think that those lists are more so for kids. I mean I will try to eat something and if it feels like I can't, I won't. Kids just eat things without consideration of their braces. So far off of the no-no list I have had:

Popcorn, pretzels, hard candy, pizza crust. The only thing that ever popped off a bracket was celery and that was on the "go ahead and eat it because it helps with bloodflow" list haha.

[DrJasonKTam]

We don't give our patients a "never eat" list. With braces you can still eat everything you used to have before. The only key is that you will be eating them a bit differently. For instance, it's better not to bite into an apple with your front teeth to avoid breaking off brackets. You can still cut it into smaller pieces and chew with your molars.

Really, it is common sense that you don't want to bite on something that will hit your bracket and give it a chance of falling off. Happy eating!

[ashesgap]

The saddest part of braces is finding out which things you can't eat. Even at 8 months there are still things i'm coming up on that i can't chew. Sometimes it just feels akward, and sometimes i worry the item is just too hard. My hubby bought me a Milky Way a few months back, which is my fav, and during the first bite i couldn't even pull my teeth apart to chew. I haven't tried one since. A few dinners have done the same thing, where i thought something would be soft enough but it just took too much work to chew up. I also worry sometimes that i'm not chewing the food up enough. Like yeast rolls with great crusty crust....after two bites my jaw was just too tired to finish it.
I'm not quite sick of the braces yet...but getting close.

[VancouverJude]

I don't get the no pizza (crust) caveat at all. I guess every person is different -- as every pizza crust is different -- but pizza is one of the treat style foods I can eat quite easily, crust and all. Perhaps this is more for kids who might just be tempted to chow down hard on their pizza.

I do make sure my proxabrush is at hand...

[Lynette]

I still eat everything you're "not suppose" to. I had a few broken brackets the first 2 weeks of treatment from testing my limits, but now that everything has settled I don't have any problems.

I think now i'm more concerned about eating anything that is going to stain my braces than eating anything that's going to break them

[RHOyally Braced]

I almost eat everything I used to, mostly just no nuts or really hard or chewy things. Not fun, because my favorite things to eat are M&M peanuts and sour power straws. I just keep a glass of warm water nearby and my proxibrush close. Haven't broken a bracket yet.

[gokix]

I avoid gum at all costs. But for the most part, I eat anything I want to.

[bbsadmin]

We don't give our patients a "never eat" list. With braces you can still eat everything you used to have before. The only key is that you will be eating them a bit differently. For instance, it's better not to bite into an apple with your front teeth to avoid breaking off brackets. You can still cut it into smaller pieces and chew with your molars.

Really, it is common sense that you don't want to bite on something that will hit your bracket and give it a chance of falling off. Happy eating!

I totally agree. I think those lists are mainly for kids who tend to be careless and aren't thinking about it.

The only foods I found I couldn't eat (and yes, I COULD eat them, but I preferred NOT to because they got stuck in my brackets) was nuts. I could eat popcorn as long as I was careful about it. I could eat things with hard crust if I bit into them from the side, not from the front. I found ways to adapt. For the first 6 months, I found I couldn't eat tortilla chips because as I chewed them the pieces seemed like little daggers in my gums. But eventually I could eat those, as well. I was so used to cutting up hamburgers and burritos that after I had my braces off, it was weird biting into them with my front teeth again, LOL!

[drgnchsr36]

Yay, that's good to know.

I love love Doritos.. and Chips with Salsa.. I'm hoping not to give that up for too long!

[drgnchsr36]

Just curious, is drinking soda bad?

Or is there a limit? I try to limit myself to only 1 a day if I have one - but just wondering.

[seriousthinker]

I was told to use a straw if I occasionally have a coke. Think that it is more to do with general rules plus perhaps having erosion on the exposed bit only around the brackets.

Thanks for the replies, makes me feel so much better! I had McDonalds this eve, a few crunchy fries thrown in! I'll keep going the way I am, not over do it and if the worst thing happens I'll not admit to having eaten said things.

Peanut M&Ms and snikers are my faves! I can't wait to have some but will prob wait a while, maybe when brcs come off.

ST

[Tasha Fierce]

We don't give our patients a "never eat" list. With braces you can still eat everything you used to have before. The only key is that you will be eating them a bit differently. For instance, it's better not to bite into an apple with your front teeth to avoid breaking off brackets. You can still cut it into smaller pieces and chew with your molars.

Really, it is common sense that you don't want to bite on something that will hit your bracket and give it a chance of falling off. Happy eating!

I totally agree. I think those lists are mainly for kids who tend to be careless and aren't thinking about it.

The only foods I found I couldn't eat (and yes, I COULD eat them, but I preferred NOT to because they got stuck in my brackets) was nuts. I could eat popcorn as long as I was careful about it. I could eat things with hard crust if I bit into them from the side, not from the front. I found ways to adapt. For the first 6 months, I found I couldn't eat tortilla chips because as I chewed them the pieces seemed like little daggers in my gums. But eventually I could eat those, as well. I was so used to cutting up hamburgers and burritos that after I had my braces off, it was weird biting into them with my front teeth again, LOL!

I have to agree with you agreeing! I found that ever since I got my braces on, not one of the brackets have popped off, and also the tortilla chips bit! The first time I ate them with braces I thought they would massacre my gums. I still stay away from them because I've had such bad experiences with them. Popcorn and nuts are also no-no's for me, just takes too much time to clean them all out. I am a bagel addict (the first step is admitting you have a problem ) and usually when I go in for an adjustment, I can't eat them for the first few days. After that, it's game on to everything I'm craving.

I find that the "foods you shouldn't eat" really is up to how wisely you eat them. For example, my orthodontist told me he once had a patient that kept coming in for brackets popping off. He said, "I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I'm avoiding everything you told me!" Turns out that this kid loved steak and he would take humongous bites whenever he ate them and that's why his brackets kept popping off, he just needed to take smaller bites. So I think you can eat pretty much everything, just be careful with how you eat them, bon appétit !