Foods to Avoid
What to eat and what to skip to protect your braces and get the best results
The Right Diet Protects Your Treatment
What you eat during treatment directly affects how smoothly things go. Hard and sticky foods break brackets, bend wires, and — most importantly — add time to your treatment. Every broken bracket can add weeks.
The good news: plenty of great food is totally safe to eat. Use this guide to make smart choices throughout your treatment.
Foods to Avoid with Braces
These foods break brackets, bend wires, and add time to your treatment
🪨
Hard Foods
Break brackets and bend wires
Hard candies
Jolly Ranchers, Werther's, Life Savers
Ice
Chewing ice cubes or crushed ice
Hard pretzels
Thick pretzel rods and hard pretzel nuggets
Bagels & hard rolls
Especially crusty or chewy types
Popcorn
Kernels and hulls get stuck and can break brackets
Nuts
Almonds, walnuts, cashews — any hard variety
Hard chips
Tortilla chips, Fritos, hard crackers
Pizza crust
The hard outer edge — soften the middle is fine
Hard taco shells
Use soft tortillas instead
Hard vegetables raw
Whole raw carrots, apples — cut into small pieces instead
🍬
Sticky & Chewy Foods
Pull off brackets and get trapped in wires
Caramel
Caramel candies, caramel apples, caramel sauce
Taffy
Salt water taffy, Starburst, Laffy Taffy
Gummy candies
Gummy bears, gummy worms, Swedish fish
Chewy candy bars
Tootsie Rolls, Now and Laters, Sugar Daddys
Bubble gum & chewing gum
Any gum — it wraps around wires and brackets
Fruit snacks
Welch's fruit snacks, Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups
Licorice
Twizzlers, Red Vines, black licorice
Bagels
Very chewy bagels strain brackets
Dried fruit
Raisins, dried mango, craisins — sticky and sugar-dense
Beef jerky
And other tough, chewy meats
🥤
High-Sugar Foods & Drinks
Accelerate tooth decay and cause white spot staining
Soda & energy drinks
Especially dark sodas — acidic and sugary
Sports drinks
Gatorade, Powerade — high sugar and acid
Juice
High in sugar — drink water instead
Sweetened coffee drinks
Lattes with syrup, flavored frappes
Hard candies
Hold sugar against teeth for extended periods
Cake and cookies
Fine in moderation, but brush immediately after
🥤
Foods That Stain Clear Brackets or Aligners
Discolor clear ceramic brackets or aligner trays
Coffee & tea
Drink through a straw when possible, rinse after
Red wine
Heavy staining on ceramic brackets and aligner trays
Tomato-based sauces
Pasta sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup
Turmeric & curry
Deep yellow pigment — very difficult to remove from trays
Berries
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries — eat with water
Balsamic vinegar
Very dark and staining — avoid when wearing trays
Great news for aligner patients!
Because you remove your aligners to eat, you can eat almost anything — just brush and floss thoroughly before reinserting. However, avoid eating or drinking anything other than plain water while wearing your trays, and watch for foods that stain your aligners (listed below).
Foods That Stain or Damage Aligners
Avoid these while wearing your trays — eat with trays removed, then brush before reinserting
🚫
The #1 Rule for Aligners
Remove your aligners before eating or drinking anything other than plain water. Food and colored beverages trapped under your tray damage your teeth and stain the plastic permanently.
Coffee & tea
Drink through a straw when possible, rinse after
Red wine
Heavy staining on ceramic brackets and aligner trays
Tomato-based sauces
Pasta sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup
Turmeric & curry
Deep yellow pigment — very difficult to remove from trays
Berries
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries — eat with water
Balsamic vinegar
Very dark and staining — avoid when wearing trays
Always brush and floss before reinserting your aligners — food or sugary residue trapped under your tray creates an ideal environment for cavities. Even a quick rinse is better than nothing.
How to Eat Your Favorite Foods Safely
Many foods are safe with braces if you prepare them differently
Apples & hard fruit
Cut into thin slices or small cubes — do not bite directly into whole fruit.
Corn on the cob
Cut the kernels off the cob before eating.
Pizza
Eat the soft middle, avoid the hard outer crust edge.
Meat on the bone
Cut or pull meat off the bone — do not gnaw with front teeth.
Bagels & crusty bread
Tear into small pieces or choose soft sandwich bread.
Sandwiches
Cut into quarters so you are not biting down with as much force.
Great Foods to Enjoy
After removing your aligners, virtually anything goes — here are some easy go-tos
🍗 Soft Proteins
Tender chicken or fish
Eggs (any style)
Tofu
Soft deli meat
Meatballs
Salmon
🧀 Dairy
Yogurt
Soft cheeses
Pudding
Milkshakes
Cottage cheese
Ice cream (no mix-ins)
🍝 Grains & Starches
Pasta
Rice
Soft bread (no crust)
Pancakes
Oatmeal
Soft tortillas
Mashed potatoes
🥑 Fruits & Vegetables
Bananas
Berries
Mango
Steamed vegetables
Avocado
Applesauce
Grapes (cut in half)
🍲 Soups & Soft Meals
Soups
Smoothies
Soft casseroles
Hummus
Scrambled eggs
Mac and cheese
🍦 Treats & Snacks
Ice cream
Soft cookies
Cake without hard nuts
Gelatin & Jell-O
Peanut butter
Pudding
Broke a Bracket?
If you ate something that broke a bracket or bent a wire, contact our office to let us know. We will determine whether it needs to be repaired before your next appointment. Do not try to fix it yourself.
Questions About Diet During Treatment?
Our team is happy to answer any questions about eating safely with braces or aligners