Getting braces can require a real lifestyle adjustment. Let’s get you prepared! Certain habits and behaviors that we often don’t think twice about with “bare” teeth can easily break our braces. In addition to slowing down results and requiring an extra office visit to get the situation fixed, broken braces can cause pain and discomfort.
While your dental provider is always happy to see you, we’d prefer not to see you again until your next scheduled appointment. We know that having to rearrange your schedule to fit in an emergency visit because of a mishap with your braces is never easy. Fortunately, being aware of what to avoid when you have braces can save you from figuring out the pitfalls on your own. Take a look at seven habits to avoid with braces.
1. Using Your Teeth to Open Bags or Unscrew Caps
The truth about this tip is that nobody should be using their teeth as tools. Even people who don’t wear braces can easily chip or crack a tooth by using their teeth for anything other than chewing food. Habits to avoid include tearing into chip bags with your teeth, unscrewing soda bottles with your teeth, and unzipping things with your teeth. In addition to pulling off a bracket, these habits could also cause force that inadvertently shifts your teeth out of alignment. Take a minute to grab a scissor or bottle opener before you open any kind of packaging with your teeth!
2. Chewing Gum
Switch to mints once you get your braces on! Gum is a true enemy of braces. Its sticky, gooey nature can easily pull at brackets, bands, and wires to force them out of alignment. Gum can also create a real mess by getting tangled in your brackets. When using mints as replacements, always dissolve the mint fully by sucking on it without using your teeth.
3. Nibbling on Crunchy Raw Veggies and Nuts
This is one of the only times you’re ever going to hear a medical professional to tell you to stay away from vegetables! Baby carrots, celery stalks, and other hard, crunchy vegetables can easily snap wires or dislodge brackets. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should give up vegetables while wearing braces. If you want crunchiness, opt for leafy salads and greens instead that don’t require you to “chomp” with your biting surfaces. Steam, boil, or bake all other hard vegetables.
Nuts are also pretty precarious when you have braces. Avoid chewing on almonds, cashews, and other nuts that are hard and crunchy. One way to still enjoy the nutritional benefits of nuts while wearing braces is to either switch to “nut butter” spreads or finely chop full-sized nuts into smaller pieces that don’t require chomping.
4. Biting Nails
While it may seem like an innocent habit, biting your nails actually puts pressure and force on your teeth. The force from biting down on nails can be powerful enough to bend wires. It could also easily pop a bracket out of place. Let’s not forget that you could 100% chip a tooth from biting your nails. If you have braces, consider this the perfect opportunity to drop a bad habit that nobody should live with.
5. Eating Pretzels
You may be wondering what a seemingly innocent pretzel could have done to make it on this list. The truth is that pretzels are often seen as the silent enemies among dental professionals. While they seem harmless, their hardness can easily bend or break wires and brackets.
It takes just one bite of a pretzel at the wrong angle to cause a big problem. Other offenders to lump in with pretzels include popcorn, chips, and hard crackers. Trade these in for braces safe snacks that include soft fruits, scrambled eggs, pasta, pancakes, soft cheeses, and soft protein bars. It might take you a few days to want to “chew” on anything at all after your braces are placed. It’s very normal for tension and soreness to affect your gums and cheeks. Here at Johnson Family Orthodontics, some favorite options for food for new braces among our patients include pudding, ice cream, smoothies, yogurt, rice pudding, cottage cheese, and pureed soups.
6. Overdoing It With Sugary Treats and Soda
While sugary foods and drinks don’t technically harm braces, it’s still smart to avoid them as much as possible while you’re wearing braces. The simple reason why is that sugary treats make your teeth more vulnerable to cavities. Brushing with braces is already complicated enough. For many people, the struggle to get between teeth while wearing braces already makes them more vulnerable to cavities. It can be harder to detect early cavities while you’re wearing braces because dentists will generally skip X-rays until your braces are off because it’s too difficult to get clear images. What’s more, treating a cavity that develops while you’re being treated with braces can be more complicated.
Being careful about sugar consumption while wearing braces can ensure that you have the healthiest, most beautiful teeth waiting for you when the big reveal happens on the day you get them removed. The last thing anyone wants to do after wearing braces for many months is undergo more dental treatments to treat cavities and decay.
7. Skipping Visits
Your dental provider wants you to know how extremely important being consistent with your scheduled visits is for successful treatment. Generally, dental providers need to see you every three to four weeks during your treatment plan. When you skip appointments, you can delay results.
It’s also important to stick with your routine dental appointments and cleanings while you’re being treated with braces. While it may seem like you’re in the dental chair every few weeks for your orthodontic appointments, these visits are not substitutions for routine dental cleanings and checkups. Your dental provider isn’t looking at your mouth from a complete oral care perspective during these visits. They are only assessing the progress of your orthodontic treatment plan. That means that telltale signs of decay, cavities, and other problems probably won’t be detected while they’re still small enough to be easily treated if you’re avoiding routine dental care for braces.
Good Habits Matter When You Have Braces
Being strict with your habits for just a few months of your life while wearing braces is more than worth it when the goal is a lifetime of enjoying a vibrant smile! Of course, the same level of diligence will be needed when it comes to wearing retainers for teeth to maintain your freshly fixed alignment after treatment. Dr. Cole Johnson is here to help ensure that your braces journey is a success! If you’re unsure if traditional braces are right for you, Dr. Johnson can help you weigh the pros and cons, go over braces alternative options, and design a custom plan that’s right for you. Schedule a free consultation with Dr. Johnson to get started!