What can and can't you eat once you have braces?
With braces, soft foods that are easy to chew and can be cut into small bites are easy to eat: yogurt, soup, pasta, rice, eggs, boiled vegetables, meatballs, fish, bananas and ripe fruit, for example. By contrast, hard foods (nuts, ice, hard candy), sticky foods (chewing gum, caramel, Turkish delight) and foods you bite off (whole apples, corn on the cob, crusty bread) can cause a bracket to come off or the wire to bend, so they are either avoided completely or eaten in a different form.
The rule is actually simple: the brackets (small buttons bonded to the teeth) that hold the teeth together with the wire are not designed for the force of biting with the front teeth or very hard chewing. When you cut food into small pieces and chew with your back teeth, you keep most of your menu. Below you will find a detailed soft-food plan for the first week, a braces food list and the foods to avoid.
How should you eat during the first week?
In the first few days after braces are fitted, it is common to feel pressure on the teeth and tenderness when chewing. For most people this feeling eases within a few days; it may also return briefly after each check-up when the wire is adjusted. During this period, the goal is to eat filling, balanced meals without straining the teeth. We describe what you may experience in the first week separately in our article on the first week after getting braces.
- Foods eaten with a spoon: Lentil soup, ezogelin (red lentil and bulgur soup), vegetable and chicken soup; yogurt, cacık (yogurt with cucumber), ayran (yogurt drink); rice pudding, milk pudding, pudding.
- Soft main dishes: Boiled or baked fish, meatballs in sauce, potatoes with ground meat, menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs with tomatoes and peppers), omelets, boiled eggs.
- Grains: Well-cooked pasta, rice, bulgur pilaf, oatmeal, soaked soft bread.
- Vegetables and fruit: Mashed potatoes and squash, boiled carrots, bananas, ripe pears, melon, watermelon, fruit purée.
- Cooling options: Cold water and cold yogurt may ease sensitivity for some people. If you eat ice cream, choose a plain kind without chunks and keep it brief; then rinse your mouth with water.
Returning to hard foods before the tenderness passes both increases discomfort and puts strain on newly bonded brackets. Do not decide on your own whether you need a painkiller; ask your orthodontist.
Braces food list: what can you eat comfortably?
After the first week, your diet largely returns to normal. The table below divides eating with braces into four groups. The list is for general information; your orthodontist may give different advice depending on your type of braces and the structure of your mouth.
| Group | Examples | How to eat them |
|---|---|---|
| Can be eaten comfortably | Yogurt, soup, pasta, rice, eggs, cheese, fish, meatballs, boiled vegetables, bananas, strawberries, melon, soft bread | In normal bites, chewing with the back teeth |
| Can be eaten with care | Apples, pears, carrots, cucumbers, chicken, red meat, pizza, simit (sesame bread ring), toasted sandwiches, lahmacun (thin Turkish flatbread with minced meat) | Cut into small pieces, without biting with the front teeth |
| Preferred in the first week and after adjustments | Soup, purée, rice pudding, omelets, oatmeal, smoothies | While tenderness lasts; return to normal after a few days |
| Recommended to avoid | Chewing gum, caramel, Turkish delight, hard candy, nuts, leblebi (roasted chickpeas), ice, popcorn, corn on the cob, crusty bread | Avoided during treatment, or ask your orthodontist |
As you can see, the list of forbidden foods is not long. What really changes is how foods are prepared and eaten.
What can't you eat with braces?
The answer to the question of what you cannot eat with braces falls under three headings: hard foods, sticky foods and foods you bite off.
Hard foods
Hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, leblebi, hard candy, ice and seeds in the shell can detach a bracket from the tooth surface or bend the wire. People who have a habit of chewing ice should stop during treatment. If you want to eat nuts, adding them finely chopped or ground to dishes and yogurt is a safer way.
Sticky foods
Chewing gum, caramel, Turkish delight, pestil (dried fruit leather), soft candies and sticky chocolate bars get stuck between the brackets and the wire. They are hard to clean and also increase the buildup of bacterial plaque (a layer of bacteria that accumulates on the tooth surface), raising the risk of cavities and white spots around the brackets. That is why chewing gum is one of the most frequently asked questions: regular chewing gum is not recommended during treatment.
Foods you bite off
Biting into a whole apple, eating corn on the cob, tearing crusty bread with the front teeth or stripping meat off the bone with your teeth puts sudden force on the front brackets. You do not have to give up these foods entirely; changing the form they are eaten in is enough:
- Apples and pears: Cut into thin slices and chew with the back teeth.
- Corn: Cut the kernels off the cob with a knife and eat them loose. Popcorn is generally not recommended, because pieces of the hulls get stuck between the gums and the brackets.
- Carrots and raw vegetables: Grate them, cut them into thin sticks or boil them lightly.
- Meat and chicken: Take the meat off the bone and cut it into small bites.
- Pizza, simit, lahmacun: Tear off the crust edges in small pieces and eat them.
Drinks and staining with braces
Drinks do not break brackets, but they do affect the health of the teeth and the area around the brackets. Sugary and acidic drinks (cola, carbonated drinks, packaged fruit juices, energy drinks) can weaken the enamel in areas around the brackets that are hard to clean. One of the main reasons white spots appear where the brackets were removed at the end of treatment is frequent consumption of sugary and acidic drinks combined with inadequate cleaning.
- Water: Make it your main drink throughout the day; also use it to rinse your mouth after meals.
- Tea and coffee: Can be drunk. However, elastic ties (the colored or clear rings placed on the brackets) can pick up color from dark drinks. Drinking them without sugar and then rinsing with water is a good habit.
- Cola and carbonated drinks: Cut down if possible; if you drink them, have them with a meal and finish them quickly rather than sipping throughout the day.
- Staining foods: Curry, turmeric, tomato sauce, beets and sour cherry juice can stain clear or light-colored ties. Because the ties are changed at check-ups, this staining is temporary.
For more on choosing tie colors and staining, see our braces colors page. General eating habits that protect dental health are covered in our article on foods and drinks that protect and harm dental health.
How should you care for your mouth after eating?
With braces, what you do after eating matters as much as what you eat. Food debris easily builds up under the brackets and behind the wire.
- Rinse your mouth with water after eating.
- If you can brush, brush the top and bottom of each bracket and the gumline one by one.
- Clean the spaces under the wire with an interdental brush; use a water flosser if needed.
- When you are out, carry a small toothbrush, an interdental brush and orthodontic wax with you.
You can find what each tool does in our braces care products guide, and brushing technique in our article on brushing and cleaning with braces.
What happens if you accidentally eat something hard?
After a hard bite, a bracket may come loose, the wire may slip out at the end and poke your cheek, or an elastic tie may come off. In this case, take care not to swallow the broken piece, keep it and call the clinic. You can temporarily cover a poking wire end with orthodontic wax; do not try to cut or bend the wire yourself. Because a broken bracket can slow tooth movement, letting the clinic know without waiting for your next check-up helps keep your treatment on schedule. For details, see our article on braces emergencies.
Frequent bracket breakage is one of the factors that play a role in lengthening the total treatment time. We explain what affects treatment time on our how long braces take page.
Are clear aligners different for people who do not want dietary restrictions?
Because clear aligners are removed while eating, there are no food restrictions like those with braces. However, they require a different kind of discipline: the aligners must be worn 20–22 hours a day, and after anything other than water, the teeth must be brushed and the aligners put back in. For people who snack often, this requires a routine of its own. Which method suits you depends not only on your eating habits but also on the condition of your teeth; that is why the decision is made together at the examination. For a comparison, take a look at our clear aligners vs. braces page, and for everyday use, our how to wear clear aligners page.
For your braces treatment and check-ups
Dietary advice can vary from person to person; especially for those with chewing problems, jaw joint sensitivity or a special diet, your orthodontist's advice takes priority. At Funda Sarıkaya Oral and Dental Health Polyclinic, Funda Pekyılmaz Sarıkaya, specialist orthodontist (Uzm. Dt.), gives you written care and dietary advice on the day your braces are fitted; at check-ups, you assess the condition of the brackets and wire together. The clinic is located at Park Oran Ofis in Oran, Çankaya, next to Panora Mall, and is open Monday–Saturday, 09:00–20:00. For treatment options, see our braces treatment and braces in Ankara pages, and to make an appointment, you can reach us by phone at 0312 911 60 36 or via WhatsApp.