Have you received braces and are you curious about what kind of soft foods for braces you can eat best? Below are some examples of soft foods for braces you can eat.
If you got braces today, this can be a bit strange in the mouth. It may also be the case that the braces can hurt a lot for the first few days because of this you cannot eat so easily. Fortunately, the pain will stop after a few days, allowing you to eat normally again.
It’s especially important to pay close attention to what you eat during that time when it hurts. Eating hard or sticky foods can damage your braces, requiring you to go back to the orthodontist.
Best soft foods for braces
Choosing soft foods is the most obvious choice. The soft food has an advantage: you don’t have to chew it. This means that the chance of damage to your braces is not that great, and it also hurts less with sensitive teeth. You can eat some foods such as hard vegetables, if you do steam them, they are nice and soft and easier to bite. Below are soft foods for braces you can eat:
- Milkshakes
- Yogurt
- Soup
- Muffins
- Jell-O
- Soft-cooked, ground meat
- Bananas
- Quinoa
- Pancakes
- Scrambled eggs
- Pudding
- Meatloaf
- Oatmeal
- Pasta and noodles
- Hummus
- Soft-cooked, shredded meat
- Soft tortillas
- Steamed or cooked vegetables
- Custard
- Soft cheese
- Cream of wheat
- Ice cream and sorbet
- Soft cakes
- Apple sauce
- Smoothies
- Tofu
- Couscous
- Soft, cooked rice
- Macaroni and cheese
- Soup with soft vegetables
- Soft-boiled beans
- Cooked beans or refried beans
- Avocado
- Protein shakes
- 100% fruit juice with no sugar added
- Egg salad, chicken salad or tuna salad
- Fruit cups
- Soft fish dishes, without bones
- Boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes
- Soft bread without a hard crust
- Peanut butter
- Cooked tempeh
- Soft sandwich bread
Avoid hard foods
Avoiding hard food is very unpleasant, hard food can damage your braces and this can eventually hurt a lot. It is therefore important that you should avoid the following hard foods:
- Nuts
- popcorn
- Bagels
- Hard crusts of bread
- Chips
- Tortilla
- Pizza crusts
- Tacos
- Apples (except very small slices)
- Corn (unless it is only corn kernels – avoid eating corn on the cob)
- Raw carrots
Avoid sticky foods
Eating sticky food is also bad for your braces, it can also be quite painful when you eat this with your new braces. That is why it is often not recommended to eat sticky food, such as sticky candy, chewing gum, this should be avoided. Some examples of sticky foods to avoid include:
- All types of chewing gum
- Chocolate
- Caramel
- Toffee’s
- Gummy cheese
- Licorice
Cut food into smaller pieces
One of the biggest risks of damaging your braces comes from the way you eat your food. Usually, eating as you always did can cause the braces to loosen or break. You can prevent this by cutting your food into smaller pieces. Cutting food into smaller pieces makes eating easier and can help reduce pain. You can do the following to cut it into smaller pieces (as an example I have chosen corn and apples, you can apply this with all foods):
- Remove the kernels from a corn cob with a knife. Corn is actually soft enough to eat, but biting the cob can be very painful to your teeth, it will also damage your braces or possibly cause pain in your jaw.
- Cut apples into very small slices before eating them. In principle it is also the same as with corn. Biting the apple core can be painful and eventually damage your braces.
- Even if the food is good for your braces, you should cut the food into smaller pieces. This will help control the pain and protect your teeth from damage.
Chew with your molars
Most people often forget and don’t think about which teeth they use to bite and chew their food. If you’ve just had braces, your teeth may be extra sensitive. With the large back molars you have, you can chew food more easily and this can help prevent any pain in your front teeth.
- Be careful not to eat or tear food with your front teeth. This is another reason why smaller pieces can help.
- It can help you to put the food all the way in the back of your mouth (Note! Not in your throat, this can choke you!)
- If you are not used to sticking a fork in the back of your mouth and you do not want to bite the fork, you can choose to grab the pieces of food with your finger and place them on the place as gently as possible and than you can chew with your molars.
Eat very slowly
It is important to eat slowly with your new braces, especially for the first few days, because they hurt a lot. If you eat too fast it can lead to you forgetting how to eat (small bites, chewing with your back molars); you also run the risk of biting on seeds, seeds or bones. If you chew too quickly, your teeth may experience pain again. Therefore you may consider doing the following:
- Drinking water with a meal. This will make it easier to swallow if you have difficulty chewing food. In addition, it also has another advantage, drinking water also helps to rinse away food residues that can get stuck in your braces.
Tips with eating
- Eat soft foods with your front teeth or molars at the very back of your mouth.
- Try not to irritate your teeth if they are already experiencing pain. Touching your teeth, gums, braces will probably only make the pain worse.
- At first, try to prevent your lower jaw and upper jaw from touching, as that can hurt.
- If you experience a lot of pain and are hungry, you may consider having a cold smoothie or milkshake. The cold relieves pain and satisfies hunger.
- Chew with the side of your mouth with the least amount of pressure.
- If the sides of your mouth start to hurt, try to move your mouth little and speak as little as possible.
Conclusion
Your braces are a precision device and can easily be damaged by hard foods, such as hard tacos, apples and bagels, as well as sticky foods. This can cause the bracket to loosen or break off completely. Avoid chewing anything other than food that can bend the brace and cause discomfort.