How to Eat Comfortably Even if You Have Dental Braces

If you have opted for braces to straighten your teeth, you are likely to experience some soreness in your gums for the first few days after the initial fitting and, sometimes, even a couple of days after any adjustment or tightening.

Keep reading to learn more about what our team at Woodruff Family Dental in Jonesboro, Arkansas, recommends to minimize any discomfort while eating when you have braces.

• Transitioning to a Braces Diet

For a few days after the braces have been fitted, you should try to consume a more liquid diet. Soups, juices, and smoothies can be the perfect choices especially if you serve them chilled as they can help take the edge off the soreness.

Over the next couple of days, you can gradually move to softer foods that won’t require a lot of chewing. For full meals or snacks, there is a variety of options you can choose from. Your diet will be far from dreary and can, in fact, be even more wholesome.

• Foods to Eat

Soft foods such as eggs, pancakes, muffins, cheese, banana, and yogurt are ideal breakfast foods, while soft, seedless bread, rice, pasta, and mashed potatoes are ideal for your other meals. You can also comfortably eat fish and meatballs. 

Ice creams and puddings without crunchy ingredients make for the perfect desserts, especially if you have a craving for something sweet. Do remember to clean your teeth after having anything with high sugar content.

No matter what foods you choose, it will help if you cut them into small pieces and use your back teeth to chew slowly and with care.

• Foods to Avoid

Steer clear of crunchy foods such as popcorn and crackers that can not only cause pain but also damage the braces. The same goes for sticky foods like gum and hard candy. You can still indulge in soft chocolates and jello. 

Also avoid foods that require you to bite with your front teeth like corn-on-the-cob or whole apples. Apples cut into small, bite-sized pieces will not pose a problem.

Your teeth will feel different when you have braces on and throughout the treatment and, as the teeth realign, you might feel the need to keep modifying how you bite and chew. Although this can initially be challenging, things will settle down, and eating with braces will eventually become more comfortable.   

For more on how to eat comfortably with dental braces, call (870) 972-8190 visit us at 2800 Enterprise Cv, Jonesboro, AR 72401.