Foods to Avoid with Braces

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; the sugar can cause tooth decay and other related problems.

Examples of Sticky Foods to Avoid:

  • Gum (sugar-free or regular)

  • 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