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When you are undergoing orthodontic treatment to enhance your smile, you may need to make some changes to your dietary habits to protect your orthodontic appliances from damage.
Certain foods that are sticky or hard can damage both your teeth and your brackets and wires. In particular, the following snack foods can result in harm to your braces and pose a risk to the health of your teeth:
- Caramel: Sticky caramel can stick to both the teeth and braces, remaining on your smile for a prolonged period of time and putting you at risk of tooth decay. Your orthodontic treatment could be delayed as a result of tooth decay and cause you to need to wear braces longer.
- Salt water taffy: Taffy is as sticky as caramel, and can damage your orthodontic brackets as well as increase your risk of tooth decay. Orthodontic appliances should not come in contact with salt water taffy at any time during treatment.
- Popcorn: If you bite down on popcorn kernels, it can become stuck between your appliance and teeth, causing you pain and potentially damaging your braces. We encourage you to avoid popcorn while wearing braces to avoid the risk of popcorn kernels.
Our orthodontic team is happy to provide further information if you have questions about what to eat while wearing braces. Contact Hawaii Smile Designs today to schedule an appointment with our orthodontists.
