Waugh and Allen’s "No-No" List...
Eating these foods will loosen the braces, but you may not discover the problem until hours or even days later. Loose bands, broken wires, and detached brackets cause delays in your orthodontic treatment.
ICE……NEVER. It will damage your braces.
PIZZA CRUST……The hard crust can bend the wires.
HARD PRETZELS……Bends wires, loosens bands, and loosens brackets.
HARD ROLLS, BAGELS……Bends the wires and loosens the brackets.
DORITOS, TACOS, TOSTITOS, CHEETOS, FRITOS, AND THE LIKE……Will form a hard ball and break your braces.
APPLES……Slice into bite size pieces.
CORN ON THE COB……Slice corn off the cob.
BEEF JERKY, SLIM JIMS……Tough as nails.
LOLLIPOPS AND HARD CANDY……You may weaken your braces when you bite into them.
POPCORN……The little kernels get between the gum and the band. This can be very painful.
RAW CARROTS……Too hard. Slice them very thinly or avoid them.
NUTS…..No nuts of any kind.
CARAMEL CANDY, BUBBLE/CHEWING GUM, TAFFY……Is sticky and will pull off wires and feed the bacteria in your mouth. Plus, chewing gum repeatedly flexes the wires and breaks them -- just like you can do to a clothes hanger.
PENS AND PENCILS……Favorite exam food; damages wires and brackets.