Happy Fall From Rad Orthodontics

Happy Fall Everyone!

It’s that time of the year again! Fall has arrived! With falls arrival, that also means a whole host of delicious, sticky foods have come back, ready for you to consume. Here, we’ve created a list for you: outlining the safe foods to eat, and those that may be hazards on your orthodontic journey.

Please note: If you have Invisalign, it is safe to consume every single food item on this list, as long as you remove your aligners before eating/drinking!

Don’ts:

• Caramel/candy apples: We know, they’re a fall staple, but, they are simply too chewy and hard, and can cause real damage to your braces.
• Caramel/kettle popcorn: Popcorn in general is a bad idea with braces, but when you add in chewy caramel, as well as a hard candle coating, it makes for a disastrous snack.
• Pretzels: Now, there is a bit of a caveat here, hard pretzels are a no (Including chocolate-covered pretzels) however, soft pretzels are generally fine.
• Chewy candy: This includes everything from airheads to candy corn to starburst. These pull at your brackets and wires and can cause damage.
• Candied nuts: Candied nuts like pecans and walnuts are incredibly hard and can snap wires. Nuts in general should be avoided while wearing braces, but while these may taste delicious, they are terrible for your braces.
• Hard cookies: We hate to say it, but Oreos are included in this. The one except here is if you are a milk dunker, and you let your Oreos get soft before you eat them, they are typically okay.
• Rice Krispy treats: They are so chewy, and simply pull on the wires and brackets, causing damage that would need to be repaired at your next visit.

Do’s:

While we just listed a lot of fall staples that are not safe to consume with braces, there are a lot of perfectly safe fall treats! This includes things like:

• Apple cider donuts: These are the perfect fall treat! Soft enough that they won’t harm your braces, and fall enough to satisfy cravings
• Cinnamon rolls: These are also super soft and a super yummy, braces-safe, fall treat!
• Pumpkin bread: While we would recommend avoiding something hard like biscotti, pumpkin bread is the perfect alternative; as long as there are no nuts added to the bread, this would be a great fall treat!
• Soft candies: This would include candies like Reeses, Kitkats, 3 musketeers, and chocolate bars.
• Pie: Pie should be perfectly safe, as long as it does not have any nuts added to it (sorry pecan pie eaters!)
• Chicken noodle soup: While we don’t think there was any ever doubt about the ability to consume chicken noodle soup with braces, we wanted to include it anyway as it is a family favorite, a classic fall meal.

We hope this list helps, and we hope you have a fantastic fall!