What Can You Eat With Braces? A Simple Guide for Families

Foods to enjoy

Soft foods are your friends, especially in the first few days after placement or an adjustment: yogurt, pasta, rice, eggs, soup, smoothies, soft breads, bananas, steamed vegetables, fish and tender chicken. Cheese, mashed potatoes and oatmeal are easy wins.

Foods to avoid

Hard foods like ice, nuts, hard pretzels and popcorn can snap brackets. Sticky foods — caramel, taffy, gummy candy and gum — pull on wires and get stuck. Chewy foods like bagels and jerky put extra stress on appliances.

Biting directly into apples, corn on the cob or carrots can also loosen brackets. Cut them into bite-size pieces instead.

Lunchbox ideas

Try pasta salad, soft wraps, cheese cubes, applesauce, hummus with soft pita, or a thermos of soup. Pack a travel toothbrush so kids can brush after lunch.

If something breaks

A loose bracket isn’t usually an emergency. Call your Harmony office so we can schedule a repair, and cover any poking wire with orthodontic wax in the meantime.