Foods to Avoid:

Hard foods may do damage by breaking the braces off of your teeth and bending the wires that are carefully designed to straighten your bite. Sticky foods may loosen your bands or get caught in the braces. Foods to avoid include: 

 

• Ice (even if you're careful)

• Taffy and caramels

• Jolly Ranchers and other hard candies

• Gum of any kind

• Hard chips like Doritos

• Carrots, apples, pears, etc. should be cut into small pieces

• Stay away from the bottom of the popcorn bag - the hard kernels are bad news

• Meat should not be chewed off of the bone, it should be cut off

• Corn on the cob should be sliced off

• Pizza crust, bagels, and French bread should be broken into bite size pieces

• Pens, pencils, and fingernails should not be bit down on as they will also damage the braces