What can I eat with braces?

Lunch at school

Sandwiches, wraps and pizza are all fine. The trick is cutting them into smaller pieces so you are not stretching your front teeth around a huge bite, which is exactly where brackets take the hardest hit.

Apples and carrots are still yours too, just sliced instead of eaten whole. Biting straight into a whole apple sends all that force into one bracket at once, but the same apple cut into wedges is no trouble at all. If your cafeteria has water, a quick rinse after eating helps keep food from sticking around your brackets until you can brush.

Birthday parties and sweet treats

Cake, ice cream and soft cookies are not a problem, so a party does not have to feel like a loss. What really gets braces in trouble is the sticky stuff: caramel, taffy, gummy candy and gum. Those grab onto a bracket and tug at it again and again until it finally lets go, sometimes without you even noticing until later.

Hard candy and lollipops cause trouble a different way. They are fine if you let them melt slowly, but biting down on one is asking for the same kind of trouble as a whole apple. When in doubt at a party, ask yourself if the treat is soft enough to chew normally. If not, it can probably wait until your braces come off.

The first few days feel a little different

Right after braces go on, and again for a day or so after an adjustment, your teeth might feel sore or tender when you bite down. That is normal, and it is just your teeth getting used to being moved. It fades on its own.

Soft foods make those days easier: smoothies, yogurt, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, soup and mac and cheese all go down without asking much of sore teeth. None of this means you need medicine to get through it. If it ever feels like more than ordinary soreness, tell a grown-up so they can call the office and ask.

If a bracket or wire ever lets go

Sometimes a bracket comes loose or a wire slips even when you have been careful, and that is not something to feel bad about. It happens to plenty of kids wearing braces.

Tell a grown-up right away so they can call (239) 482-2722 and describe what happened. If you still have the loose piece, keep it in a safe spot instead of tossing it. The team will let you know whether it needs fixing today or can wait for your next visit, and either way, it is a quick, ordinary kind of appointment.