07 Oct 2021
6 min read
Making the decision to improve your smile with teeth straightening braces has the potential to change your life.
Once your braces have been fitted, it’s important to do everything you can to look after them to ensure your treatment goes smoothly and so that you get the best possible results.
Eating the right foods and avoiding things that can cause problems is a vital part of looking after fixed braces.
Fixed braces use brackets attached to the teeth that are connected with wires.
Removable braces such as Invisalign plastic aligners, meanwhile, are always taken out before eating or drinking anything other than water.
Removable braces patients can then eat any foods but they must always brush their teeth before putting the aligners back in.
The brackets and wires on a fixed brace can be damaged or loosened by excessively hard, chewy or sticky foods.
With sugary foods and drinks, in particular, there is also an increased risk of things becoming trapped and plaque building up, which can cause tooth decay.
During your teeth-straightening treatment you might have to make some small adjustments to your diet but there are plenty of foods you can eat with braces.
In the first few days after your braces are fitted, or following adjustments made by the orthodontist, your teeth will probably feel tender.
Luckily there are lots of soft foods for braces!
During these stages it’s best to stick entirely to non-chewy meals such as soups, casseroles, pasta, mashed potatoes, omelettes, smoothies, pancakes or porridge.
Here are some foods you should avoid altogether with fixed braces: