Foods that cannot be cleaned off the braces may lead to discoloration and decay of your teeth. Even though our braces and wires are metal, they are fragile and are usually damaged by eating the wrong foods, thus taking us longer to finish our treatment.

ABSOLUTELY NO

Gum: sugarless or otherwise
Sticky & Chewy Foods: caramels, gummy candy/food, licorice, toffee
Hard Foods: nuts, hard candy, bagels, corn on the cob, hard pretzels, jerky, ice, carrots, apples (unless cooked or cut into small pieces)

* Avoid Chewing on Pens, Pencils, Fingernails *

With braces being glued on the outside of your teeth, how you eat your food makes a difference.  Cut your food into bite size pieces (ex: corn on the cob, meat on a bone) and place the food directly in your mouth and chew on back teeth.  

Rule of Thumb: If in doubt, cut it up or don’t eat it!