If you have a sweet tooth, you may suffer without candies and other sweets while wearing braces. You may also wonder if you can eat at least a few candies with braces. But the reality is that the answer will probably not satisfy you. Except for candies, there are also a lot of different foods that are strictly forbidden to eat with bracers. But candies can be considered the most dangerous due to certain reasons. They directly affect your oral health and can complicate your treatment. In this article, we gathered information about why you should avoid candies while you have bracers.
Sugar worsens your oral health
Candies contain a lot of sugar that can worsen your oral health even if you don’t have braces. Sugar is a carbohydrate that is a perfect meal for bacteria that live on the teeth surface. These bacteria produce acids that corrode tooth enamel and lead to the development of tooth decay. If you have braces, it may be quite difficult to get rid of these bacteria.
Take into account the fact that it’s hard to reach every area around the braces with the toothbrush or floss. Bacteria multiply in a favorable environment behind the braces in your mouth and cause even more cavities. That’s why you should decide what is more important for you, even and healthy teeth or a few candies. Still, make sure you visit a dentist often – doing so will lead to great dental health.
All candies harm you the same way
There are a lot of different candies but all of them harm you the same way if you have braces. It doesn’t matter what kind of candies (sticky toffee or hard lolly-pops) you prefer, the force necessary to bite and grind the candy acts on your tooth. If you have braces, eating candy will give extra force to your braces as well. Most often, the bracers yields to the force necessary to eat the sweets, and they break or come off. This can lead to that your orthodontic treatment stops until you will visit your dentist and fix the problem. The replacement of the broken braces can take weeks or even months.
Eating candies can be painful
It is obvious that tooth decay can make your teeth hurt. But eating sticky or hard candies can also make tour teeth achy. In addition to force and effort, you need to eat an especially hard or sticky candy (which can actually break your braces as well) think how your teeth feel after an archwire adjustment.
Your teeth can become extremely sensitive and sore when there are braces on your teeth. It is especially true after an archwire adjustment. Now imagine that you are trying to bite off a piece of candy or chocolate bar. If you will not scream in pain at this very moment, then you are a very strong-willed person.
How can you replace candies?
Consider the fact that if you eat candy, you can receive pain afterward. There are certain alternatives to candies you can eat while you have braces. The most healthy alternative to candies is fruit. But you should also know that sweet fruits contain sugar so it is better to rinse your mouth with plain water after eating them.
Generally, you can seldom eat something sweet but it is better to set aside the candy or chocolate and think about cooking something sweet by yourself. One more little reminder. Do not forget to brush and floss your teeth after eating something sweet. If you have no possibility to perform full-fledged dental hygiene, you can at least rinse your mouth with plain water.