Wearing braces requires adjusting certain habits and dietary choices to ensure a successful outcome. Orthodontic appliances, composed of brackets, wires, and bands, are carefully positioned to apply consistent, low-level force to guide teeth into alignment. Damage to these components can cause treatment delays, requiring unscheduled repair visits and potentially prolonging the overall time you need to wear the braces. Understanding which foods and activities pose a risk to the integrity of the appliances is the first step in protecting your investment in a straighter smile.
Hard and Crunchy Foods
Foods that require a high biting force present the most immediate mechanical threat to the appliance structure. Items like nuts, popcorn kernels, ice, and hard candies can exert concentrated pressure, causing sudden damage to the metal or ceramic parts. The archwire, which directs the movement of the teeth, can become bent or warped when subjected to excessive force from chewing tough foods.
This kind of mechanical stress often results in a bracket separating from the tooth surface. Crusty breads, hard pretzels, and raw, firm vegetables like carrots or apples should be carefully avoided or modified by cutting them into small, chewable pieces. Even seemingly harmless items like hard taco shells or corn chips can snap against the brackets, requiring an emergency visit to the orthodontist for re-bonding and adjustment.
Sticky and Chewy Foods
Sticky and chewy foods pose a different, but equally damaging, adhesive risk to orthodontic hardware. Substances such as caramel, taffy, chewing gum, and gummy candies possess a high viscosity that allows them to wrap around wires and brackets. This adhesive quality makes thorough cleaning extremely challenging, leaving sugars and food particles trapped against the enamel.
More significantly, the act of pulling a sticky substance away from the teeth generates a strong tensile or pulling force on the brackets. This sustained force can weaken the specialized adhesive bond that secures the bracket to the tooth surface. When the bond fails, the bracket can pop off, allowing the tooth to shift out of position and disrupting the alignment process. Even dense, chewy items like bagels or certain dried fruits can create this disruptive pulling action.
Prohibited Habits and Non-Food Items
Non-dietary habits that involve placing hard objects in the mouth apply similar mechanical stress to the appliances as hard foods. The unconscious act of chewing on pen caps, pencils, or biting fingernails creates concentrated, damaging pressure points on wires and brackets. This habit can easily cause the delicate archwire to distort or fracture, which immediately halts the movement of the teeth in that area.
Using teeth to open packages, tear tape, or bite into objects during sports without a protective mouthguard should also be avoided, as these actions apply strong, uneven forces to the appliance. Protecting the hardware from these non-food stresses is just as important as maintaining a careful diet for an uninterrupted treatment timeline.
Drinks and Foods That Damage Enamel
Certain drinks and foods risk chemical damage to the teeth, specifically to the enamel surrounding the braces. The presence of brackets and wires creates microscopic traps that can harbor food debris and plaque, making the area vulnerable to acid attack. Highly acidic beverages, such as carbonated sodas, sports drinks, and excessive citrus juices, can initiate enamel erosion.
These drinks often contain citric or phosphoric acid, substances that demineralize the enamel. If poor hygiene allows sugar and acid to linger around the brackets, it can lead to “white spot lesions,” which are permanent, demineralized areas on the tooth surface visible once the braces are removed. Limiting the intake of high-sugar and high-acid items, or using a straw to bypass the teeth, helps minimize the corrosive exposure.