Wearing orthodontic braces involves careful management of your diet to protect the appliance and the underlying tooth enamel. While it may seem like most sweets are off-limits, you can still enjoy certain treats if you are selective about the texture and ingredients of the food. Making smart choices about which sweets to consume and establishing a consistent hygiene routine are paramount for successful orthodontic treatment.
Textures and Ingredients That Damage Braces
The risk associated with consuming sweets while wearing braces stems from two distinct types of damage: physical and chemical. Physical damage occurs when the force of chewing or the inherent stickiness of a food item dislodges or breaks the appliance. Hard candies and lollipops pose a threat because they encourage biting, which can cause a bracket to snap off or a wire to bend. Even if you intend only to suck on them, the risk of an accidental bite remains high.
Sticky and chewy items, such as caramels, taffy, gum, and gummy bears, adhere tightly and exert significant pulling force, potentially loosening brackets or pulling wires out. These mishaps can cause delays in your treatment schedule, requiring additional emergency appointments for repair.
Chemical damage is caused by the sugar content, which feeds oral bacteria that produce acid. With braces, food particles and sugar have more places to hide, making cleaning difficult. This prolonged exposure to acid causes decalcification, resulting in permanent white spots or tooth decay around the brackets. Sour candies are particularly harmful because they combine high sugar content with additional acid, actively eroding the enamel.
Safe Sweet Alternatives
Satisfying a sweet craving requires choosing soft, non-sticky foods that require minimal chewing force. Treats that melt in your mouth are generally the safest options, as they do not exert force on the brackets or get lodged in the wires. Plain, soft chocolates, such as bars without nuts or caramel, or truffles with creamy centers, dissolve quickly. Soft-baked goods, including muffins or cookies, are permissible, provided they do not contain hard mix-ins like nuts or chocolate chunks.
Frozen treats are also a great way to enjoy sweets, as they are inherently soft and soothing, especially after an adjustment. Options like soft-serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, and smoothies are safe, provided they are free of crunchy elements. Dairy-based desserts such as custard, pudding, or gelatin are easily consumed and require virtually no chewing.
Immediate Care After Eating Sugary Foods
Even when consuming safe sweet alternatives, immediate and thorough hygiene is necessary to mitigate chemical damage. Sugar exposure initiates an “acid attack” on the enamel, where bacteria produce acids that demineralize the tooth surface. Rinsing your mouth immediately after eating sugary food is the first line of defense, helping to wash away loose sugar particles and neutralize some acid. A quick rinse with water or an antimicrobial mouthwash can temporarily cleanse the brackets and wires until full brushing is possible.
The mechanical removal of food debris and plaque should follow the rinse shortly after consumption. Specialized tools are important for effective cleaning around the fixed appliance:
- Use an interdental brush (proxabrush) to clean underneath the archwires and around the brackets, reaching areas a regular toothbrush cannot.
- Employ floss threaders or water flossers to remove trapped sugar and plaque from between the teeth and under the wires.
- Brush with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
- Focus on angling the brush to clean both above and below the brackets and along the gum line.