How Much Sugar Can You Eat While You Have Braces?

One of the biggest worries people have when they start orthodontic treatment with braces is about not being able to eat their favorite foods. While it’s true you should avoid certain foods while you have braces, you can still enjoy delicious treats. In fact, you may discover new favorites as you find braces-friendly foods to eat. But when it comes to Halloween, you’ll likely be wondering how much you can really indulge on this traditional spooky evening.

How Much Sugar is Too Much when You Have Braces?

While you generally should do your best to avoid sugar, especially with braces, it’s totally fair to want to give yourself a break during Halloween. Generally speaking, you’ll probably figure out your sugar limit by the time you start to feel a bit unwell, so it’s really a matter of your discretion. However, it’s definitely recommended that you don’t get to this point, even if it is for a special occasion.

What’s more important for your oral health and the safety of your braces is how you clean your teeth and which kinds of sugary treats you choose to eat.

Keeping Your Braces in Good Condition on Halloween

Unfortunately, a lot of traditional Halloween candy will be off-limits if you have braces. Probably the worst thing for braces is anything sticky or chewy. Candies like caramel or taffy will get stuck to your brackets and will be very difficult to clean off. Plus, they can damage your wires and brackets fairly easily. You should also avoid any candies with nuts or toffee, or other crunchy Halloween treats. So while caramel apples with nuts are a delicious staple of Halloween, they’re one of the worst things you could eat with braces.

You will have to be careful with hard candies, too, although you’ll also probably hurt your teeth anyway if you try to chew these. In general, plain chocolate bars, or those filled with soft nougat or peanut butter should be fine. You can also have other sweet treats like soft cookies, brownies, or ice cream, you should be just fine!

Cleaning Your Teeth after Eating Sweets

When you enjoy your sugary sweets on Halloween, remember to thoroughly clean your teeth afterward. Drinking water throughout the evening also helps prevent sugary buildup. Before you go to bed, ideally sooner, be sure to brush your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush and toothpaste. You should also floss with a floss-threader and consider rinsing with mouthwash.

This should also be your daily teeth-cleaning habit while you have braces. In addition to cleaning frequently, you should also schedule checkups with your dentist more often so you can get rid of hard-to-reach plaque buildup and catch any signs of tooth decay.

Contact The Smile Store today to schedule your free consultation and to learn more about how to clean your teeth with braces.