Braces and holidays: What you can eat, what you should be cautious about

One of the first questions people ask their orthodontist when getting braces is “What can I eat?”. And rightly so, because certain foods can damage orthodontic appliances, sabotaging the duration of treatment and sometimes the final result.

This concern takes on special significance during the holiday season, as there are many tempting foods that are not necessarily friendly for braces. Especially sweets that stick to the teeth “are a real nightmare for anyone undergoing orthodontic treatment, but also for their orthodontist,” says Dr. DeWayne B. McCamish, DDS, MS, president of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). “It’s no coincidence that the week after the holidays is one of the busiest times of the year, with many emergency appointments for broken braces.”

To avoid this risk, experts recommend that patients be very careful when choosing the foods they consume. “If something is hard, sticky, crunchy, or like gum, don’t eat it,” advises Dr. McCamish. “Be sure to avoid caramel in sweets and candies, bubble gum, licorice, and any snacks that could damage the braces, the orthodontic wire, retainers, or appliances, such as popcorn (the kernels can be too hard), taco chips, and sweets with a hard shell.”

Other foods that can cause problems include whole, hard nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.), whole hard fruits and vegetables (e.g., apples, pears, carrots), corn on the cob, hard pretzels, bread crusts, and the tough dough on pizza, ribs, hard rolls, and cookies, and generally anything that requires a lot of force to bite into and break off a piece.

“You can avoid this risk by cutting food into small bites, removing roasted meat from the bone with cutlery, pulling the kernels off corn with your hands, and cutting apples, carrots, and rolls into small pieces,” says Dr. McCamish.

It’s also very important to avoid carbonated drinks, sodas, isotonic drinks, and fruit juices as much as possible, even if they don’t contain added sugar.

“The AAO issued a warning a few months ago because most of these types of drinks have a low pH, which makes them contraindicated during orthodontic treatment because their acids attack the enamel of the teeth and there is a risk of cavities. If they contain sugar, the risk increases even more because sugar interacts with the microbial plaque on the teeth, producing more acids that erode the enamel,” points out Dr. Katerina Douma-Michelaki, DDS, PhD, specialist in Pediatric & Adult Orthodontics, and adds:

“This erosion is irreversible, and it can leave a mark from the orthodontic appliance on the tooth because where the appliance touches, the tooth’s surface will be intact, while the surrounding area will be eroded.”

The best drink during orthodontic treatment is water, which has a neutral pH (i.e., 7), so it does not promote tooth erosion. Other relatively friendly drinks are black coffee, which has a pH just above 6, and milk, which has a pH close to 7 (it is 6.12 and 6.70, respectively, according to the AAO), resulting in minimal erosion.

What can the patient eat? Primarily foods with a soft texture, emphasizes Ms. Douma-Michelaki, that do not apply excessive pressure on the teeth during chewing. Typical examples include soft meat cut into pieces, meatballs (but not fried with a crunchy crust), eggs, soups, pasta, soft and semi-soft cheeses, potatoes (not crunchy if fried), creamy-textured sweets (but not those containing hard cookies or a hard tart base), ripe fruits, quinoa, couscous, rice, fruit compotes, yogurt, salads, etc.

Of course, since it’s hard to go through the holidays without eating melomakarona and kourabiedes, it’s a good idea to pay attention to how soft they are and avoid anything that’s crunchy or contains nuts.

Also, if you want to drink sodas or beverages, it’s a good idea to take some steps to minimize damage. For example, make sure to drink the soda with a straw, swallowing it immediately, and consume it only with food. After each meal, make sure to brush your teeth thoroughly, but if this is not possible, rinse your mouth well with clean water.

Also, be sure to follow your orthodontist’s recommendations for oral hygiene and keep up with your orthodontic appointments.