TRICK OR TREAT! Tell us, what's your favorite candy to eat?

What do you do when you are wearing braces and you end up with sticky, chewy and hard candy?

October is National Orthodontic Health Month! Don't trust your smile to just anyone! While October can be filled with hard, sticky, crunchy, and chewy treats, it's important to be kind to your teeth and braces during treatment.

Since some treats can break brackets, it's important to take care of your braces especially with Halloween right around the corner.

Be Careful What Kind of Candy You Eat this Halloween

Broken brackets can delay orthodontics resulting in extended treatment times.

‍Oh noooo... Not more time in braces!

Fortunately, there is good news: There is plenty of candy that can be eaten with braces!

Just keep it soft and creamy. Some examples include:

• Kit Kat bars
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• 3 Musketeers
• and other soft chocolate bars are also fine

Goolish candies that should be avoided are hard, chewy and crunchy.  Some examples include:

• Twizzlers
• Gummy bears
• and Jolly Ranchers‍

Which Sweets You Can and Can't Eat with Braces

Here's is a more detailed list of some of the best candy treats you can eat while wearing braces:

• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• Reese's Pieces
• 3 Musketeers
• Soft chocolate bars (only chocolate, no nuts)
• Plain or peanut butter M&Ms (not peanut M&Ms)
• Soft baked cookies (no nuts)
• RITZ Bitz (mini) crackers

 
“Skip the chocolate treats that contain nuts & caramel and stick to pure chocolate and you are almost guaranteed not to damage your braces.” – Dr. James TenBrook

Here are some candies that can damage your braces or orthodontic appliances and really set your orthodontic treatment back. Be sure to avoid:

• Caramels
• Taffy
• Hard candy
• Chewy candy
• Jelly beans
• Licorice
• Bubble gum
• Suckers
• Sour candy
• Popcorn
• Nuts

For more information, the American Association of Orthodontists recommends which candies to avoid during your treatment.

More Good News

Fortunately, TenBrook T1 Braces are rounded and easy to keep clean. The rounded edges are less likely to catch candy, leading to fewer broken braces, cavities, and white spots.  

Always brush well with an ADA approved spin or rotary tooth brush that will remove food, candy, and plaque, after you eat.  

Enjoy Halloween and it’s sweet treats! Just be smart, pick your candies wisely, and brush like a champ afterwards.

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🎃 TenBrook Orthodontics

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P.S. We know that avoiding favorite foods like popcorn with nuts, taffy, gummy candy, and chewy caramel is no easy task. Our offices get very busy right after Halloween as we get to work fixing many brackets and wires that fall victim to trick or treating.

Paying extra attention to dental hygiene is important while wearing braces, especially on those days when a sweet tooth strikes. Make sure you brush and floss as soon as possible after eating any sweets. This will help remove any sugar left behind and prevent cavities from forming.

If you do run into trouble, call the nearest Tenbrook Orthodontics office and make an appointment to come in. It’s best to schedule fixes quickly, before any further damage occurs.

When all else fails, take a look in the mirror and think about the perfect smile that’s soon to be yours. Remember, TenBrook’s T1, T-Clear and Candy braces are designed to work fast, which means a lot less time in braces. Now that’s sweet!

For more information about TenBrook braces, call 1-877-SMILE10 or get started online today!