Can I Eat Candy With Braces?

Question: Can I Eat Candy With Braces?

You have braces and you want to sink your teeth into a gooey candy bar, but you wonder "Can I eat candy with braces?" If you've asked yourself this very question, the answer isn't too surprising.

Answer: There are many foods you can and can't eat with braces, but eating candy when you have braces is specifically not recommended for a number of reasons. Understanding why and how eating candy when you have braces will hurt your chances of having successful orthodontic treatment, thus affecting the health of your teeth and gums in the long run, will hopefully help diminish your cravings for sweet treats while you have braces; and hopefully beyond your orthodontic treatment as well.

It's All About the Sugar

For starters, let's take a look at the obvious. Candy is loaded with sugar, which is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are what fuel the bacteria on your teeth to produce acids that cause tooth decay to form. For a tooth without braces, candy is a large threat. Now add in the brackets and bands onto your teeth, which are a necessity during your orthodontic treatment, and your teeth most certainly will be facing a nightmare of tooth decay. When you incorporate additional sugar to your diet, along with the difficulty of reaching every surface of the tooth and around the bracket and band attachments with your toothbrush and floss, avoiding candy certainly outweighs giving into a tempting piece of candy.

Sticky, Hard, Gooey Gooey - It's All the Same

Candy can be found in a number of different forms, but it's really all the same when you consider eating candy with braces. From hard mint-type candies, to sticky toffee and gooey chocolate bars, candy does mass amounts of damage to your braces, regardless of what form it comes in.
When you bite into a hard or sticky piece of candy without braces, your tooth is stressed by the force it takes to break down and chew the piece of candy. With braces or your teeth, biting into a hard piece of candy will put additional force onto the bracket or band attachment, along with the tooth. More often than not, the bracket or band will succumb to the force it takes to eat the candy, and they will break or "pop" off. When a bracket or band becomes loose, your orthodontic treatment comes to a screeching halt until you are able to see your dentist or orthodontist to have he problem repaired. For most patients, a loose band or bracket will set their treatment back one to two months.