How to Choose Foods for a Child With Braces

When your child has braces, it's important to teach him not only how to clean them but also how to choose foods that are safe for him to eat. Follow these steps to make the correct food selections for a child with braces in order to protect your expensive dental investment and your child's teeth as well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Restrict the amount of starch and sugar your child with braces eats. Starchy and sugary foods leave particles on the teeth that can turn into harmful acids. These acids can hurt his teeth and gums and generate plaque.
2. Serve your child with braces oatmeal for breakfast, which is both soft and easy to chew, rather than hard and crunchy cold cereal, which may damage his braces.
3. Purchase soft breads for his sandwiches and toast, and avoid hard, crusty breads, such as French or Italian bread and bagels.
4. Make soups and stews to serve your child for lunches and dinners. These foods are easy to chew, and will allow otherwise hard or crunchy vegetables to soften during cooking.
5. Choose snack and dessert foods that are soft and easy to chew. Instead of jelly beans, which can get stuck in the braces and pretzels, which are hard to chew, serve peanut butter cups and ice cream to satisfy your child's sweet tooth.
6. Cut healthy but hard foods, such as carrots and apples, into small pieces so they will not loosen the brackets of your child's braces when he chews them.
7. Slice corn from the cob, and remove meat from the bone if you plan on serving either of these foods to your child with braces. This will keep the braces in good shape and will prevent any damage to them.

Tips & Warnings

• Instruct your child with braces to brush his teeth after every meal to ensure the braces stay clean.
• Do not allow your child with braces to chew gum, eat popcorn, crunch on ice or to consume any chewy foods, like granola bars, or any sticky candy, such as gummy bears.