Now that you're on track to a straighter, healthier smile with braces, we bet you're wondering what you can and can't eat while you have them. Great question! We'll walk you through foods you should avoid while you're straightening your smile in order to keep your oral health and braces in great shape!

Foods to Avoid When Wearing Braces

During your orthodontic treatment, it's important to avoid foods that can damage your braces, get stuck in them, or easily hide between teeth and result in tooth decay and discoloration. Some foods to avoid include:

Chewy foods, such as jerky, hard breads, and licorice
Hard foods, including almonds, pretzels, popcorn, and ice
Sticky foods, such as dried fruit, taffy, gum, and caramel
Foods that you need to directly bite into, such as whole apples and corn on the cob

When choosing which foods to eat, just remember to ask yourself: could this damage or get stuck in my braces? If the answer is yes, then you should probably find something different to eat. But don't worry, there are still some yummy options to choose from that won't harm your smile or your braces!