Foods to Avoid

During orthodontic treatment with braces, it is important to avoid foods that can damage the braces or wires and cause the teeth to stop moving. It is also recommended to avoid foods that are hard to clean to reduce the risk of cavities.
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Please avoid these foods:

• Foods you have to bite into: apples, corn on the cob, uncooked carrots and broccoli.
  • We recommend cutting up foods into smaller pieces to chew with the back teeth. When preparing hard vegetables such as broccoli and carrots it is recommended to steam or boil them long enough until they lose their crunch. In general we encourage all patients in braces to eat a soft food diet.
• Hard foods: nuts and seeds, hard candy, popcorn, pizza crusts, hard cookies, Beef jerky, 
• Crunchy foods: Chips such as Doritos, Takis, Cheetos, etc
• Sticky foods: caramels, taffy, Skittles, Starburst, etc. Meat with bones (remove the bones first)

​Also, do not chew on hard objects: ice, pens, pencils or fingernails