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How to Eat When Newly Wearing or Tightening Braces

February 10, 2024 by admin Category: How To

You are viewing the article How to Eat When Newly Wearing or Tightening Braces  at Tnhelearning.edu.vn you can quickly access the necessary information in the table of contents of the article below.

X

This article was co-written by Cristian Macau, DDS. Dr Macau is an oral surgeon, periodontist and esthetician of the Favero Dental Clinic in London. He received his DDS degree from Carp Davila Medical College in 2015.

There are 8 references cited in this article that you can see at the bottom of the page.

This article has been viewed 51,241 times.

If you are new to wearing or wearing braces, your teeth may feel uncomfortable and painful for the first few days. The pain usually goes away after a few days, but you also need to make conscious food choices during this time. [1] X Research Source Hard or sticky foods can damage braces, causing pain in the early days of wearing or adjusting braces. The following article will guide you how to eat food when wearing or tightening braces. [2] X Research Resources Learning about what foods to eat and how to eat them can help you adjust to your new braces or braces with ease.

Table of Contents

  • Steps
    • Adjust your diet
    • Change the way you eat
    • Pain control
    • Dental care
  • Advice
  • Warning
  • Things you need

Steps

Adjust your diet

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 1

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 1

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Choose soft foods. Soft, non-tough foods are best while wearing braces. Not only does it cause less damage to braces, soft foods are also less painful for sensitive teeth. You can still eat some foods like hard vegetables, but they need to be steamed until they are soft and easy to chew. Some foods that are good for braces and won’t irritate sensitive teeth include:

  • Soft cheese
  • Yogurt
  • Soup
  • Soft cooked meat, not chewy, boneless (chicken, meatballs, cold cuts, etc.)
  • Boneless soft seafood dishes (fish, crab meat)
  • Pasta/noodles
  • Boiled or mashed potatoes
  • Soft rice
  • Egg
  • Soft cooked beans
  • Soft bread without hard edges
  • Soft shell tortillas
  • Pancake
  • Soft baked goods, such as cookies or muffins
  • Pudding
  • Apple sauce
  • Banana
  • Smoothies, ice cream or milkshakes
  • Jelly
Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 2

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 2

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Avoid hard foods. Hard foods can damage braces and cause mild to severe pain in the days after braces are fitted or adjusted. [3] X Source of Study Avoid hard or crunchy foods, especially after seeing an orthodontist. Some common hard foods that you should avoid include:

  • Nuts [4] X Research Source
  • Granpa Cake [5] X Research Source
  • Popcorn [6] X Research Source
  • Ice cubes [7] X Research Source
  • Hard Bread Crust [8] X Research Source
  • Bagel Bread [9] X Research Source
  • Pizza Border [10] X Research Source
  • French fries and tortillas [11] X Research Source
  • Hard Shell Tacos [12] X Research Source
  • Raw carrots (unless cut into extremely small pieces) [13] X Research Source
  • Apples (unless sliced) [14] X Research Source
  • Corn (unless it’s just kernels, avoid whole corn) [15] X Research Source
Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 3

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 3

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Cut down on sticky foods. Sticky foods are not good for braces and can be painful to chew when you first wear braces. Sweets and gum are the worst sticky foods that you should avoid while wearing braces. [16] X Research Source Avoid certain sticky foods such as:

  • Types of chewing gum [17] X Research Source
  • Licorice [18] X Research Source
  • Toffee [19] X Research Source
  • Caramel Candy [20] X Research Source
  • Starburst Hard Candy [21] X Research Source
  • Sugar Daddies [22] X Research Source
  • Chocolate
  • Cheese

Change the way you eat

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 4

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 4

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Cut food into small pieces. The way you eat is one of the biggest risk factors that can damage your braces. Biting food in the usual way can cause brackets to fall out of your teeth or break. To avoid this, you should cut food into small pieces. This helps control how many times teeth have to chew food at any given time.

  • Use a knife to cut the corn kernels from the cob. Corn kernels are soft enough to be eaten safely, but biting into the cob can cause toothache, broken braces, or jaw pain. [23] X Research Sources
  • Cut apples into slices before serving. Similar to corn, biting into the core of an apple can cause pain or damage to braces. [24] X Research Source
  • Even if you eat foods that are good for braces, you should cut them into smaller pieces. This helps control pain and protects the tooth from damage.
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Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 5

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 5

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Chew with molars. Most of us don’t think too much about which teeth we use to bite and chew food. However, when you have just installed or adjusted braces, your teeth will be more sensitive. Therefore, you should chew with your molars – which are usually thicker and better built for grinding food – to help relieve pain in your front teeth.

  • When chewing, you should avoid tearing or tearing off food with your front teeth. This is also the reason it is more beneficial to eat foods that are chopped. [25] X Research Sources
  • Another less damaging way is to get food deep into the mouth (but not down to the back of the throat to avoid choking). [26] X Research Sources
  • If you’re not used to putting your fork deep in your mouth and are worried you might bite into it, you can try holding food with your hands and gently placing the food in a position where you can chew with your molars. [27] X Research Source
Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 6

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 6

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Eat slowly. Although you are very hungry (especially when your teeth are so painful that you cannot eat in the first days of braces), it is important to eat slowly. Eating too quickly can cause you to forget the proper way to eat (eat small pieces, chew with your molars) and increase your risk of biting into nuts or bones. [28] X Research Source If you chew too quickly, your teeth can become sore or inflamed. This is because the bones and ligaments that support the teeth in the mouth are already weak due to the impact of the force that helps to align the teeth.

  • Drink plenty of water while eating. This makes it easier to swallow if food is difficult to chew. Drinking water also helps wash away food residue that can get stuck in braces. [29] X Research Sources

Pain control

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 7

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 7

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Gargle with physiological saline. Teeth, gums, lips, tongue, and cheeks may be sore for a few days after braces are fitted or adjusted. This is normal and can be controlled in many ways. The simplest way to reduce inflammation in the mouth is to gargle with physiological saline. [30] X Research Source

  • Mix 1 teaspoon of salt in a cup containing 240 ml of clean and warm water. Do not use water that is too hot to avoid the risk of burning your mouth. [31] X Research Source
  • Stir until the salt is completely dissolved. [32] X Research Source
  • Gargle with a salt water mixture as needed throughout the day, especially during the first week after braces are fitted or adjusted. Spit out the salt water after rinsing your mouth. [33] X Research Sources
Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 8

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 8

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Apply dental wax to sharp braces. Many braces wearers experience pain when their lips, cheeks, and tongue rub against the metal braces. Others have had the wire stabbing their lips, cheeks and tongue over and over again. Both of these conditions are quite common. The best way to deal with the pain is to apply dental wax to the braces or wires that cause pain and discomfort. Dental wax can help when your mouth has to adapt to the new appliance on your teeth or as a temporary solution until you see an orthodontist to have it adjusted. However, if the braces break or the wire is sticking out, it’s best to see an orthodontist as soon as possible to deal with the problem. [34] X Research Source

  • Apply dental wax only on braces. Ask your orthodontist for take-home wax or you can buy dental wax at the pharmacy. [35] X Research Source
  • If wax keeps falling during application, you should ask your orthodontist to heat a small amount of Gutta-percha resin and apply it to the wire. The resin will cool down after 40 seconds and stick to the wire for a longer time than regular wax.
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Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 9

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 9

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Take medicines. If you experience severe pain after fitting or straightening your braces, you should consider taking medication to control the pain. Common over-the-counter medications such as Acetaminophen (Tylep) or Ibuprofen (Advil) are helpful in reducing pain. [36] X Research Source

  • When giving medication to children or adolescents, avoid giving aspirin because it can cause Reye’s syndrome in children and adolescents. Reye’s syndrome is a health problem caused by aspirin use by young people that can be fatal. [37] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source

Dental care

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 10

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 10

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Brush your teeth with dental floss regularly. It can be difficult to brush with new braces, but this step is more important than ever when you wear braces. Food can get stuck between teeth or around braces, causing discomfort and possibly increasing the risk of infection. Some dental products like Floss Threaders or Superfloss thread make it easy to brush between your teeth and around the bars of your braces. [38] X Research Source

  • Brush under the wire, then insert the floss through the section above the wire between each group of teeth. [39] X Research Sources
  • Bend the thread into a C-shape while brushing each tooth to ensure all food residue is removed. [40] X Research Source
Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 11

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 11

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Brush your teeth after each meal. Brushing is an important step when you wear braces and can be especially helpful when braces are newly fitted or tightened. Food residue can be painful for soft teeth and gums. Brushing your teeth after each meal and before bed can help remove food residue. [41] X Research Source

  • Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to ease tooth and gum pain when brushing. [42] X Research Source
  • Consider using an interdental brush to clean between the braces and the wire. [43] X Research Source
  • Brush your teeth towards the tongue to make sure food residue is completely removed. This means you will brush from the top down for the top teeth and from the bottom up for the bottom teeth. [44] X Research Source
  • Do not rush to brush your teeth. It is recommended to spend about 2-3 minutes for each brushing to ensure that each surface of each tooth is cleaned. [45] X Research Source
  • You may need to repeat brushing and rinsing more often than usual. At this time, the plaque has spread to the wider surface that is the teeth and braces.
Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 12

Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 12

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Wear orthodontic elastic as directed. Your doctor may recommend using an orthodontic elastic to correct misaligned teeth. Braces themselves will help straighten your teeth, but if your teeth are misaligned (for example, underbite or oversized), your orthodontist may recommend a special orthodontic brace. The elastic is worn by hooking each end around a special hook on two symmetrical braces (usually one in front and one behind, one above and one below on each side). [46] X Research Source

  • Orthodontic elastics should be worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the orthodontist tells them to stop wearing them. [47] X Research Sources
  • Orthodontic braces should only be removed when eating or brushing teeth. Otherwise, you should wear orthodontic elastics continuously, even at bedtime. [48]X Research Source
  • You may want to remove the elastic for a few days after each braces treatment. However, following the specific recommendation of the orthodontist will be best for the teeth. [49] X Research Source
  • Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 13

    Image titled Eat Food With New or Tightened Braces Step 13

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    Adhere to the examination schedule. Orthodontists often schedule a monthly check-up and braces. Following the schedule recommended by your orthodontist is important to ensure the braces are working properly and your teeth are in good shape. Avoiding squeezing braces only prolongs the time you wear braces. Also, it’s a good idea to see your dentist at least once every 6 months to make sure your teeth are healthy and to make sure you’re maintaining the right oral care routine. [50] X Research Source
  • Advice

    • Do not cause further irritation to the painful tooth. Touching your teeth, gums and braces only makes the pain worse.
    • Do not continue to eat if you begin to feel pain.
    • Avoid soft drinks because most soft drinks contain a lot of acid and sugar. These substances can corrode teeth and dental equipment, and leave white spots on teeth. Drinking too much soda can cause tooth decay.
    • Reduce your risk of pain by trying not to let your lower teeth touch your upper teeth.
    • If you feel too much pain but are still hungry, you should drink a cold smoothie or milkshake. The cold will help relieve the pain, and the smoothie will help you feel less hungry.
    • Apply lip balm when you go to the doctor and tighten the braces. Lip balm helps prevent dry, chapped lips after dental visits.
    • Do not eat foods that your orthodontist tells you to avoid. The doctor knows what he is doing and what is good for braces. This way, you can avoid broken braces and don’t have to wear braces for a long time.
    • If the sides of your mouth start to hurt, don’t move your mouth too much and try to talk less.
    • Try mashed potatoes as they are soft and fill you up.
    • You can drink ice water, but don’t drink too much at once. Drinking too much ice can cause pain.
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    Warning

    • Do not touch the braces. Although it looks sturdy, steel wire is very fragile and easily bent or broken. Fixing broken braces is very expensive and prolongs the time of braces.
    • Braces are special appliances and are easily damaged by hard foods such as hard tacos/tostada crusts, apples, bagels, as well as sticky foods. These foods loosen or even cause the braces to come off completely. Avoid chewing on non-food items that cause the wire to bend and cause discomfort.

    Things you need

    • Brace
    • A good toothbrush recommended by a dentist
    • Toothpaste does not whiten teeth (tooth color may be uneven if whitening toothpaste is used)
    • Water floss to clean teeth
    • Dental floss and threading devices
    • Mouthwash
    • Water or gel flour
    • Pain relievers (Advil and Ibuprofen are best)
    • Soft food
    • Dental wax (available in pharmacies)
    • Dental floss fixed on a small plastic bow
    X

    This article was co-written by Cristian Macau, DDS. Dr Macau is an oral surgeon, periodontist and esthetician of the Favero Dental Clinic in London. He received his DDS degree from Carp Davila Medical College in 2015.

    There are 8 references cited in this article that you can see at the bottom of the page.

    This article has been viewed 51,241 times.

    If you are new to wearing or wearing braces, your teeth may feel uncomfortable and painful for the first few days. The pain usually goes away after a few days, but you also need to make conscious food choices during this time. [1] X Research Source Hard or sticky foods can damage braces, causing pain in the early days of wearing or adjusting braces. The following article will guide you how to eat food when wearing or tightening braces. [2] X Research Resources Learning about what foods to eat and how to eat them can help you adjust to your new braces or braces with ease.

    Thank you for reading this post How to Eat When Newly Wearing or Tightening Braces at Tnhelearning.edu.vn You can comment, see more related articles below and hope to help you with interesting information.

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