Christmas time is foodie time. It comes with all the delicious meals that will take their rightful place on the dinner table. But if you are wearing braces, then it is highly recommendable that you consider the types of foods you eat as some could damage your braces and teeth. Rather replace them with foods you can eat to enjoy the celebrations fully.
A lot of festive treats should be avoided because they could get caught in your braces and either harm or break them. It is not an easy task to resist all the sweet, hard, or sticky foods. To ensure you achieve the best result of your orthodontic treatment and get the smile that you have always wanted, you need to fight the urge to eat any kind of sweet, hard, or sticky food. Here is a list of Christmas foods to avoid while wearing braces, and foods you can indulge in.
Foods to avoid with braces
Candy Canes
It is a well-known fact that one of the most widely consumed treats during Christmas time is candy canes. It is a delight to eat them, but when wearing braces, avoid them as they could either bend the wire or snap the brackets. If your braces get damaged, it could lead to extra treatment costs for repair, or slow down your treatment. X-mas foods that are high in sugar also cause more damage to your teeth if you wear braces, as it would be harder to clean your teeth properly.
Christmas pudding
Not only is it high in sugar, but festive desserts like Christmas pudding or mince pies can get stuck in your teeth. Chewy food can make eating and chewing quite difficult as they tend to clog up your braces; they can also make them difficult to clean. If you don’t properly clean your braces and teeth, you may start experiencing cavities, plaque, and other dental problems.
Ice Cubes
It is normal to want to celebrate Christmas with some of your favourite drinks, but you should also ensure that you don’t chew on ice cubes as this could lead to some severe damage to both your braces and teeth. Also, if you are planning on taking sugary drinks, ensure that you take proper care of your teeth right after to avoid unwanted dental issues.
Hard Vegetables
Now vegetables are good for your health, but raw vegetable snacks or other hard festive foods can be harmful to the wires and brackets of your braces. They can easily damage your braces if you are not cautious. Hard foods should be avoided at all costs if possible, and you can boil or cut your vegetables into smaller pieces to make it more manageable.
Foods to go for with braces
If you are wearing braces this Christmas, the good news is there are still Christmas foods to eat with braces and enjoy to the fullest. But you also need to be careful so as not to eat anything that will damage your braces or stain your teeth when the braces are taken off.
You can opt for popular Christmas dinner foods like turkey, potatoes and cooked or cut vegetables. Instead of indulging in Christmas pudding, you could opt for ice cream or a chocolate log as they are easier on your teeth.
Hopefully, you’ll make the right Christmas food choices, so your braces won’t get damaged over the festive period. However, should something go wrong, you can check out Angel Orthodontics’ orthodontic advice and treatments here and also have your braces and teeth checked and treated.