Who doesn’t love food? Who doesn’t love a delicious cheese burger or a nice chocolate waffle?

Food – especially delicious food – is one of the greatest joys of life. Another joy of life is also a beautiful smile. More and more people nowadays are seeking braces to repair their teeth, and give them the perfect smiles they always dreamed of.

Unfortunately, these two joys cannot co-exist. Braces usually come with restrictions with regards to the foods you could eat. Some types of foods are a big No-No when it comes to braces wearers.

Why are there food restrictions with braces?

Braces are attached to the outer surface of your teeth with a sort of glue, similar to tooth fillings, and remain there for the entire period of treatment, which could be anywhere between 6 months and 24 months on average. During that period, you must take great care of your braces, making sure they remain in their place without breaking or dislodging. Dislodged or broken braces not only prolong the treatment time, but could cause injuries to your lips, gums and cheeks as well.

Some foods such as hard foods and sticky foods (as we will explain in a bit) could break the bond between the braces and the glue, or even break the bracket itself in case of clear braces.

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What are the prohibited foods to eat with braces?

1. Hard foods:

   Hard foods in general are bad for your teeth. While our teeth are equipped to chew and crush the hardest types of food, that doesn’t mean they are all that healthy. Hard foods could also injure your gums, and leave you with gingivitis.
   When it comes to braces, hard foods easily break the glue that cements them to the teeth. Broken braces means no tooth movement, and a prolonged treatment time. Not only that, but if you have clear braces, the brackets themselves could end up being broken. Clear braces are made of ceramic – like fine china- and accidentally biting on something hard could crack them.
   Examples of hard foods include nuts, chips, and even hard fruits as apples and pears.

2. Sticky foods:

   Sticky foods are also strictly prohibited for 2 main reasons:

   1. They could stick to the brackets and dislodge them from the surface of the teeth.
   2. They are impossible to clean. These foods end up lodged between the teeth, and with braces on they are super hard to remove. You may end up with decay, gingivitis and even bone loss if the problem persists. This is actually true regardless of braces. We advise you to stay clear of sticky foods altogether.

Examples of sticky foods include gum, caramel and toffee.

Is there another option so that I could avoid all these problems?

These prohibited foods to eat with braces are for the types of braces that are stuck to your teeth, namely traditional metallic braces, clear braces and even lingual braces. However, there is another option. One that will make you avoid all those troubles, and that is Invisalign. Invisalign has no braces stuck to the teeth surface – so nothing to break – and also can be removed at will for proper cleaning, so a lower risk of decay and gum disease.

In other words, if you are a desperate foodie, and just unable to stay clear of the foods you love, then Invisalign is the right choice for you.