Dr. Dabney and his staff pride themselves on making your orthodontic experience as pleasant and easy as possible.
Rather than asking you to eliminate certain foods from your diet, we would like to ask that you eat those foods very carefully and in some cases, make changes to the way that you eat them.
Raw Vegetables:
Corn on the cob should be cut off the cob. Apples, raw carrots and celery should be cut into smaller pieces prior to eating.
Candies:
Remember that if something is hard, sticky or very chewy it could cause braces or appliances to bend or break. This could delay your orthodontic treatment. (Examples: Lifesavers, Now & Later, Laffy Taffies, Jolly Ranchers, etc.) If you are able to suck on and not chew these types of candies then by all means enjoy these.
Popcorn:
What’s a movie without popcorn? Be careful of the hard kernels and be advised that popcorn husks can become lodged beneath the braces and cause irritation of the gum tissues.
Gum:
Feel free to enjoy an occasional piece of sugar free gum as a special treat but try to cut down on the frequency.
Foreign Objects:
A few things that we highly discourage: chewing on pens, pencils or any other foreign object that normally does not go in your mouth.
Chewing ice:
We strongly discourage chewing ice. This is a sure way of breaking wires and brackets.
If in doubt, be extremely careful!!
Remember, teeth move best in a healthy environment. Please be sure to have a well balanced diet in order to keep your teeth and gums healthy.