Eating with Braces

Foods to Avoid:

• Hard foods such as ice, skittles, nerds, and nuts.
• Safe softer candy, such as peppermint patties, plain chocolate, peanut butter cups, and liquid caramel filled chocolate.
• Sticky foods such as tootsie rolls, caramel, licorice, starbursts, twix, butterfingers, and gum.
• Chewy foods like hard rolls, bagels, and licorice.
• Crunchy foods such as chips, popcorn, dry granola, M&M’s, cereal that does not get soggy in milk, and ice.
• Large foods that you must bite into (whole apples and carrots).   Cut them into smaller pieces and shred.
• Think “modification” of items like nachos:  use tortilla wrap or pita bread as the base with the same toppings.  Now it is soft and able to be eaten with braces.
• Sugary pop and drinks can add to getting cavities more easily, so use sparingly and rinse with water and brush after meals,

Foods to Enjoy:

• Soft breads, tortillas, pancakes and muffins. Remove crispy crust from bread and pizza.
• Dairy products such as milk, pudding and cheese.
• Soft grains including pasta and rice.
• Meat that are ground and shredded chicken.  Meats should be cut into small bites to eat. For ribs or drumsticks, use knife and fork to peel the meat, do not bite on the bone. 
• Fish and seafood.
• Vegetables that are soft such as mashed potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans and spinach.
• Soft Fruits such as applesauce, oranges, and bananas.
• Sweets including ice cream, milkshakes, gelatin and cake.
• Softer cookies or brownies without nuts.