While you are wearing braces, please avoid eating hard foods, sticky foods and foods high in sugar. Hard foods can break or damage the wires and brackets, and sticky foods can get caught between the wires and brackets. Minimize the amount of sugary foods you eat; sugar is a known factor in developing tooth decay.

Examples of Sticky Foods to Avoid:

• Gum
• Licorice
• Sugar Daddies
• Toffee
• Tootsie Rolls
• Caramels
• Starburst

Examples of Hard Foods to Avoid:

• Ice
• Nuts
• Hard taco shells
• French bread crust/rolls
• Corn on the cob
• Apples and carrots (unless cut into small pieces)
• Bagels
• Chips
• Jolly Ranchers
• Pizza crust
• Uncooked carrots (unless cut)

Minimize Sugary Foods like:

• Cake
• Ice Cream
• Cookies
• Pie
• Candy

Only Once a Day:

• Soda
• Sweetened tea
• Gatorade
• Kool-Aid
• Drinks with sugar

We encourage patients to habits such as fingernail biting, pencil and pen chewing or finger/thumb sucking. All of these activities can break or damage your braces and slow down your treatment.

It's important to regularly check your braces for bent or loose wires and brackets. If you have a loose/broken wire or bracket, please call our office immediately to arrange a repair appointment.