Most Difficult Foods to Eat

[Ciara]

I'm going to follow whatever advice my orthodontist gives me. If he tells me I shouldn't each corn chips, then I won't. As much I will definitely hate having to give up some of those foods that I love and enjoy, I'll do it if I have to. I'm glad to know that you have not had to sacrifice too much of what you eat. But, judging from the postings I read on this forum, I think that you're in the minority. But, good for you!

You know what, I don't know if I was perfectly honest. There's one food I saw but didn't get because I was afraid of it: Caramel Apples.
I might have salivated a little when I saw them, but I didn't purchase them because I know it'd be a baaaaad idea.

Is a carmel apple the same as a toffee apple? I've never actually had one but maybe I should try to find one before I get braces and see what I'm missing!

[Dee17]

Hey Ciara,
I was just re-reading your Facebook posting and getting ready to send you a reply. Hope you had a good day.
I don't know if it's the same as a toffee apple. I've never heard of a toffee apple. Maybe that's more common in Europe? Here (or at least where I grew up) caramel apples were usually made out of green apples (Granny Smith). They were put on a stick and then coated with melted caramel and then dipped in chopped peanuts. Delicious. But, like I said, I haven't eaten one in years. I do love caramel, though. Anything with caramel in it or on it is great for me. Guess I won't be having any of that for awhile!
I'll send you a longer message tomorrow. Right now, I need to take my dog out for the night and then get myself to bed.

[Arshi]

spinach, salads, meat, candy/chocolate :(

[oktobergoud]

Spinach is horrible! Or broccoli.. or worst of all: rucola. There have been too many times where I nearly choked on them, because one end was stuck in a bracket and the other end was stuck in my throat, horrible! Pizza is painful and ehm, yeah, that's it I guess?

[cutebraceface]

During my first week of treatment, I was ok to eat most things as long as I used a fork and my back teeth. I never used my front teeth to bite into anything. I ate thin-crust pizza and a small cheeseburger too. My abosolute favorite were french fries. I agree with other posters regarding the rice though. By the time I cleaned the rice out of my braces, I could probably scrape together another meal :)

Second week of treatment involved having 4 premolars removed so I find anything with solid bits (even if they're soft) difficult to eat for fear of getting them stuck in the extraction holes! I will be at three weeks in 2 days (1 week post-extraction) so I'm hoping I can start to incorporate more goodies soon. My bite is really off already so my back teeth no longer touch, which feels extremely weird.

[Dee17]

Well, I must admit that I'm really puzzled. If it is difficult to chew with your front teeth because they're sore from your braces AND you have molar buildups on your back teeth so you can't chew that way, how in the world are you supposed to eat anything at all! Now, I'm really starting to get nervous about all of this. My orthodontist told me when I saw him on Friday that he would be putting bite turbos on my back teeth (which I am interpreting now as molar buildups) to keep me from 'biting off my brackets." Okay, but how in the world am I supposed to be able to eat anything other than soup and yogurt?
Does anyone have any idea how long most people have to have those bite turbo things? Help!

[chimi]

Mango... it's a nigthmare...

[lambchop]

I had molar build-ups since day one; about five months ago they switched me to the bite turbos behind my front teeth, so for the whole 16 months I've been in braces I've had some kind of impediment! (My bite was very deep...) The molar build-ups are challenging in the beginning, but if you take it slow, and use your tongue to guide the food to the turbos, it can be done! I actually found protein (steak cut into very small pieces, chicken,fish) to be easier to chew; veggies are kind of slippery! Pasta also always proves to be surprisingly hard for me to eat, but I still eat a lot of it (figuring I'll digest it one way or another, lol). Pineapple (all citrus, actually) and crab are up there with the stringiest foods- I'll eat them in the comfort of my own home where I can attack the back brackets with tweezers...My bite has finally starting improving, and I've been eating salads for quite some time (I like getting my veggies, lol). I eat pizza (oftentimes cut up), hamburgers, chips, apples and carrots (always cup up), softer nuts (like peanuts and walnuts; no almonds!) and certain candy, like chocolate and the occasional licorice twist. My ortho gave me the mandatory pamphlet with the 'forbidden foods', and then said that since I'm an adult (mostly ) I was free to eat these foods as long as I exercised good judgement...let something hard soften in your mouth for a moment before trying to chew it, take itsy bitsy bites, etc. You'll figure it out, and I promise you won't starve to death! (But you might bite your tongue a few times in the early days!)

[Dee17]

Do you know why they changed you from just having molar buildups to bite turbos?

[drgnchsr36]

It was mostly bread or bread like products (crackers, chips, etc.). I still ate them, but I hated it afterwards...

[Tobilei]

It was mostly bread or bread like products (crackers, chips, etc.). I still ate them, but I hated it afterwards...

Bread is terrible!!! (and so very disgusting afterwards!)

[Glandyover]

I've popped three brackets thus far. I don't know what the root cause for the first one was but the second and third ones were from crunchy foods (Kashi granola bars and Chex Mix respectively).
Still, a person's gotta eat. I don't limit my diet even though I probably should.

[Kipepeo]

Amish made red velvet whoopie pies. Quote from my friend after seeing the effects of this, "Oh my gosh, it looks like she bit someone"! Everything was red. Why they felt they needed to use so much red food coloring was beyond me. I have clear uppers and I was paranoid they were permanently stained. (They weren't!)

[lambchop]

You know, Dee, I'm really not sure why he switched my build-ups to turbos...it seems like he said something about turbos closing my open bite faster, but I'm not sure about the science behind it. The turbos definitely took some getting used to, because I only had one contact point (two teeth on the right side hit together) instead of having the two spots where the build-ups hit, one on each side. I've been wearing some pretty heavy duty elastics, and I can definitely see things closing up...I might even get to have the turbos removed at my next appointment in three weeks. (Fingers crossed!)

[Dee17]

Hi Lambchop,
I hope they haven't been causing you too much distress. From what I understand they can be just brutal.
I think it's always kind of weird when a doctor or a dentist does something to you without any kind of an explanation. Personally, I don't like when that happens and I usually put up quite a fuss but that's just me. Anyway, I am sure they will help you. When I went in for my pre-bracketing appointment my orthodontist said he would be putting in bite turbos. I just about freaked out based on everything I've read on this forum about how horrible they are. Turned out he put in molar buildups instead and even though they took some real getting used to I adapted and was very glad I didn't get the bite turbos. Good luck and I hope you'll see some good progress sooner rather than later!