Frequent snacking can be your teeth's biggest enemy. Everyone has plaque bacteria in their mouth. When this bacteria meets up with sweet foods or beverages, the bacteria create acid in your mouth that remains for 20 minutes after you finish your last snack. The acid attacks your tooth enamel and makes it weak. That's when the cavities can start.

Part of life with braces is the challenge of eating foods that are right for you and easy on your braces. When your diet consists of part real food and part junk food--braces call for a change in eating habits. Don't despair. We haven't lost a patient to starvation yet.

Think if its right before you bite!

 What to avoid:

All Gums including Freedent

Taffy

Toffee

Licorice

Gummy Bears

Starbursts

Jelly Beans

Totsie Rolls

Raisins

Snicker and Marathon Bars

Sugar Daddies

Slim Jims and Beef Jerky

Lollipops and Suckers

Hard Candy

Hard Cookies

Jawbreakers

Nuts

Caramels

Air Heads

Now & Laters

Fruit Roll Ups

Fruit & Muesli Bars

Peanut Brittle

Crunchy Peanut Butter

Popcorn

Hard pretzels

Doritos and Fritos

Any hard chip snacks

Taco shells

Candied apples

Bagels

Dried Fruits

Ice

Popsicles

Celery Stalks

Lemon juice

Biting into apples, peaches, raw carrots- cut into pieces

Meat on the bone- cut off bone

Corn on the cob- cut off cob

Soft Drinks including diet sodas

Pens, Pencils, Fingernails- not foods but in the mouth far too often

Use a blender. Most fruits can be enjoyed if liquefied such as bananas, mangoes and melons. Cut anything that looks too hard to handle into smaller pieces. High sugar foods should be the smallest part of your diet, as well as high acidic foods such as tomatoes, salsas, vinaigarette dressings, oranges and pineapples. Your tooth enamel is going through enough right now.

Green vegetables will cling to your braces as if by magic. And you'll probably be the last to know. If salad is your mainstay, check your smile in the mirror after meals or risk someone pointing out that piece of lettuce hanging from your braces.

Soon, it will be second nature to you to turn down dangerous foods. In our office, we keep a collection of delicious recipes discovered by our patients. As you invent new ways to enjoy old favorites, please share your culinary secrets with us.

You may schedule an orthodontic appointment with Dr. William Trepp in his Severna Park, MD office by calling 410.696.4624 or in his Clinton, MD office by calling  301.868.6200. Written inquiries should be mailed to: 69 Robinson RD, Severna Park, MD 21146, USA or 8918 Woodyard RD, Clinton, MD 20735, USA