8 Braces-Friendly Foods to Enjoy This Summer
Summer in Colorado is a chance to soak up the sun and, of course, eat those favorite warm-weather foods you’ve been waiting for all year. But if you’ve just started wearing braces and this is your first summer with them, you might be wondering which summer food you can actually eat with braces. Dr. Moran and Dr. White are here to reassure you that you won’t have to miss out. In fact, here’s a list of 8 braces-friendly foods you can enjoy this summer while wearing braces.
1. Smoothies
Smoothies are a sure bet when it comes to summer food you can eat with braces. They’re gentle on braces and teeth, healthy, and you’ll find endless recipes. Use fresh, in-season summer fruit in your smoothies like raspberries, strawberries, or watermelon. Plus, a cold smoothie helps numb your mouth, providing relief from braces discomfort. The Foundations Orthodontics team also recommends smoothies for what to eat with braces during your first week — in summer or any time of the year.
2. Ice Cream & Popsicles
When it’s hot out, you can’t go wrong with ice cream and popsicles to cool down. Fortunately for braces-wearers, these cool treats fall under the category of food you can eat with braces. Just choose ice cream that doesn’t have large nut pieces or hard, frozen ingredients that could damage your braces.
A perk of Ice cream and popsicles is that they’re not only gentle on braces but soothe braces pain, too. And remember, rinse your mouth with water afterwards or brush your teeth to reduce the sugars left behind.
3. BBQ’ed Foods
Yes, you can still enjoy summer’s BBQ bounty when you have braces. When eating BBQ foods like chicken, fish, ribs, or steak, cut the meat off the bone and into small, bite-sized pieces before eating. With grilled veggies, make sure they’re soft and cut them into small pieces as well. And summer’s quintessential veggie, corn on the cob? Don’t eat it right off the cob. Instead, trim the kernels off and then enjoy.
4. Baked Beans
Baked beans show up at many an outdoor gathering. As a soft, braces-friendly food, go ahead and scoop a generous portion onto your plate. Baked beans also have lots of protein, fibre, iron, zinc and B vitamins, all great for maintaining healthy soft oral tissue and strong teeth.
5. Pasta Salad
A backyard potluck isn’t quite the same if there’s no pasta salad on the table. Tuck into pasta salad without worry, even with braces. Pasta is soft, while the veggies are typically small pieces and less likely to get stuck or damage your braces.
6. Soft Summer Fruits & Vegetables
Summer fruits and veggies are a definite highlight of the season, whether you’re harvesting your own or shopping at a Denver-area farmer’s market. Many summer fruits are ready-made for braces, think soft berries, peaches, and melons. With veggies, just be sure they’re cooked soft, and again, small bites and small pieces.
8. Soft-Baked Goods
Like Christmas, summertime is full of baked treats. Picnics, BBQs, the Fourth of July… cake, cookies, and pies, oh my! Thankfully, you can say “yes” to a slice of fresh blueberry pie while wearing braces. Generally, summer desserts are okay to eat with braces as long as they’re soft. But we suggest not eating too many summer desserts since all that sugar can contribute to tooth decay. At Foundations Orthodontics, our hope for you is a strong, stable, and beautiful smile that’s also healthy and cavity-free.
7. Cheese
Casual picnic or a dress-up al fresco event, cheese is often a typical offering. A great go-to for eating with braces, cheese is gentle on your appliance, and nutritionally, provides calcium and protein for strong teeth. Eating cheese at the end of a meal or after those baked treats we mentioned can also neutralize the acidity in your mouth, helping reduce erosion on your enamel.
Food to Avoid With Braces
Now that you’ve got some great ideas for what to eat with braces during the summer, we want to add a reminder about what food to avoid with braces. Hard, crunchy, gummy, or sticky foods can get stuck in your braces or damage them. Chewy foods are sometimes acceptable if you can cut them into small, bite-sized pieces.
Need More Braces-Friendly Tips from Your Denver, CO Orthodontist?
We at Foundations Orthodontics wish you a happy, healthy, and fun summer. If you have any questions about summer eating with braces or which food to avoid, contact us at our Denver, Winter Park, Granby, or new Centennial office — Homestead Park. We’re happy to help.