With braces, you can eat a wide variety of soft and gentle foods that won't damage your braces or cause discomfort. Suitable foods include:
- Soft fruits like bananas, grapes, melons, peaches, ripe pears, mangoes, kiwis, and blueberries.
- Soft breads such as tortillas, pita bread, and sandwich bread.
- Soft cheeses like cottage cheese, brie, feta, ricotta, and camembert.
- Cooked vegetables such as steamed broccoli, carrots, green beans, and squash.
- Pasta and rice cooked until soft.
- Mashed potatoes and other mashed or steamed vegetables.
- Dairy products like yogurt and milk-based drinks.
- Soft meats like meatballs, thinly sliced lunch meats, soft-cooked chicken, and flaky fish.
- Soft snacks like pancakes, smoothies without seeds, scrambled eggs, and soups.
- Treats like ice cream, chocolate (soft kinds), milkshakes, Jell-O, and soft cakes (without nuts).
Foods to avoid include sticky and chewy foods (gum, caramel, gummy candies), hard and crunchy foods (popcorn, nuts, hard pretzels, hard candies), tough meats (steak, jerky), and foods that require biting into hard pieces (raw apples, corn on the cob, raw carrots). Focusing on soft, cooked, or easy-to- chew foods helps protect braces and reduces discomfort, especially in the first week after getting them.
