Summer brings so many tasty treats and temptations and for those with braces many of these can spell an extra trip to a Surrey Orthodontist’s office.

Hard Fruits and Vegetables

The variety of fresh fruits such as pears, apples or peaches, along with vegetables like carrots or cauliflower when eaten whole or in large pieces can spell trouble. It’s recommended to cook these as a way to consume all these and include them into your diet.

Crunchy Grains

Many breads and buns are soft and easy to eat while some can cause problems with braces. The tiny seeds or pieces of grain can get stuck in braces and be hard to remove. Avoid hard, crusty bread and bagels, cracked wheat varieties with seeds or grains and hard crackers that can bend the wires of braces. Wrapping breads in a damp paper towel and microwaving for a short time will help soften them up.

Meat on the Bone

BBQ’s are a big part of summer eating and those on the bone can spell trouble for braces. Stringy meats can get stuck in braces or in any spaces between the teeth. Avoid beef or pork ribs,  chicken wings and legs, turkey legs, burgers or hot dogs in a bun, along with jerky or dried meats of any kind. Pulling meat off the bone and cutting it in small bite size pieces let’s you enjoy BBQ’d food or consider chicken breast or grilled fish whenever possible.

Seeds And Nuts

Wearing braces is a real challenge when it comes to nuts and seeds, the small hard pieces put stress on teeth, wires, bands and brackets. The smallest piece can result in bent wires and put back all the progress of your treatment. Be careful eating popcorn especially those unpopped kernels, corn nuts, toffee covered peanuts, unshelled sunflowers seeds, pumpkin or sesame seeds, peanuts or pistachio in their shell.

Candy

Gift shops sell wonderful homemade toffee and saltwater taffy and along with candy spell trouble for those with braces. Stay away from chocolate covered nuts, gum , hard candy and suckers, toffee, peanut brittle, taffy, carmel, licorice and even fruit roll ups.

Hard Crunchy Foods

Snacks are treats during the summer months, pretzels, potato chips, taco shells, crunchy cookies, pizza crust, uncooked pasta and any foods that are fried extra crunchy will cause issues.

Avoiding these temptations will save an unplanned trip during the summer months to see your Orthodontist. Contact Viva Orthodontics to schedule an appointment to talk about the various treatment options we provide.