The holidays are upon us! It’s the most wonderful time of the year as it’s the season for gingerbread houses, mince pies, and candy canes. This season doesn’t need to be any less wonderful for you if you are wearing braces.
Agreed that a lot of these holiday treats are a threat to your orthodontic treatment, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss all the fun. You just need to be more careful with foods to eat with braces.
The last thing you want to deal with during the holidays is an emergency visit to an orthodontist to repair damage caused by a holiday treat.
These guidelines will help you go through the holidays without causing any damage to your braces.
Chewy, sticky, and hard sweets are a big NO
The supermarket is filled with candies and sweets during the holiday season. You may get tempted to get these seasonal treats home. Unfortunately, these are precisely the foods you need to avoid for the sake of your braces.
These foods are packed with sugar and they can get easily stuck between the wires and along the brackets. The mess is then difficult to clean. Also, biting into one of these hard candies can pose a potential threat to your braces. It can bend or break your metal brackets. Here’s a list of food you can and cannot eat:
Holiday Sweets to Avoid
This is what not to eat with braces:
- Candy canes
- Fudge
- Gingerbread cookies
- Nuts or crunchy crusts
- Peanut brittle
- Popcorn
Eat This Instead!
This is what you can eat with braces:
- Brownies
- Soft sugar cookies
- Cheesecake with strawberries
- Cupcakes
- Soft chocolates
- Ice cream
- Peanut butter cups
- Citrus fruits like nectarines and tangerines
- Soft cheeses without hard nuts
- Hot chocolate
- Cinnamon applesauce
- Potato pancakes
Stock your pantry with the right food for braces so that you are able to maintain good oral habits during the holiday season.
Inform your relatives about your food restrictions in advance
Holidays mean exhaustive family dinners and get-togethers. Your extended family may not be aware of your “safe to eat” food list. The best thing you could do is inform them in advance about your situation and what food are good to eat for you.
Maintain good oral habits
During the holiday season, you tend to overindulge. However, it’s important that you maintain your good oral habits. Here are some tips:
Tips for a Braces-Safe Holiday
- Don’t forget to brush after every meal to avoid teeth decay and floss at least once a day to remove food particles from places the brush cannot reach.
- Before brushing swish your mouth with water. This helps loosen the food particles that are trapped in the braces.
- Use a fluoride rinse.
- Don’t skip appointments. Try to stick to the usual appointment routine as closely as possible. These regular visits with your orthodontist are important to keep your treatment plan on track. Set reminders if required.
The holiday season can be a dangerous time for your braces. If you want to go through this season without any orthodontic incidents, you need to thread through with caution and care.
Keep your braces and your teeth safe during this holiday season. If you need any help, you can always reach Thurman Orthodontics at 559-439-0425.
Happy Holidays! We wish you luck in navigating this holiday season!
Dr. Brian Thurman has spent his entire life enjoying all the beauty that California has to offer. A Fresno native, he still escapes to the ocean or the mountains whenever his busy schedule allows. Driven by his love for natural beauty, Dr. Thurman enjoys creating beautiful smiles and healthy bites that last a lifetime. He is proud to be the only Ivy League trained Orthodontist in the Fresno/Clovis area.