While wearing braces, there are certain foods that should be avoided. Hard, sticky, and/or chewy foods should be avoided in order to prevent loosening of brackets from teeth and distorting wires.

Here are some examples of foods to watch out for:

Hard foods:

• nuts
• ice
• hard taco shells
• chips

• hard candy
• corn on the cob
• pizza crust
• bagels

• popcorn

Sticky/chewy foods:

• gum
• taffy
• caramel
• starburst

Certain foods can be eaten in different forms. For examples, while raw carrots can damage the braces, soft cooked carrots or thinly sliced raw carrots should not do damage. While you shouldn’t bite into a whole apple with your front teeth, you can slice it and chew with your back teeth.

Use your best judgement to take care of your braces!