Foods You Can and Can’t Eat With Braces
See what to eat, what to cut or soften, and what to avoid with braces—including pizza, apples, popcorn, candy and everyday meals.
With fixed braces, choose soft foods, cut firm foods into small pieces, and avoid hard, sticky or very chewy foods. Pasta, eggs, yogurt, soft fruit and cooked vegetables are usually good choices. Popcorn, nuts, hard candy, caramel and chewing ice are best avoided throughout treatment—not just while your teeth feel sore.
The aim is to protect both your braces and your teeth. Hard or sticky foods can break brackets or dislodge wires, while food trapped around braces makes cleaning harder. Breakages can also delay treatment, according to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). Follow your orthodontist’s instructions if they differ from this general guide.
Foods you can eat with braces
You do not need to live on soup. Build meals around foods that are soft enough to chew gently, without pulling or crunching against your braces. The following choices are included in the AAO’s eating-with-braces guide.
| Food group | Braces-friendly choices | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, yogurt | Skip hard or crunchy additions such as nuts |
| Main meals | Soft-cooked pasta, soup, flaky fish | Avoid tough pieces that require forceful chewing |
| Vegetables | Steamed or boiled vegetables, mashed potatoes | Cook until soft rather than eating hard, raw pieces |
| Fruit | Bananas and soft berries | Choose soft fruit; prepare firmer fruit before eating |
| Dairy | Yogurt and soft cheese | Keep hard or sticky mix-ins out |
| Occasional treats | Plain chocolate and ice cream | Avoid versions containing nuts, caramel or hard candy |
Braces-friendly does not mean tooth-friendly in unlimited amounts. Soft sweets may be easy on brackets but still contain sugar. The British Orthodontic Society (BOS) recommends keeping chocolate and sweets to a minimum and having them at mealtimes rather than repeatedly snacking on them.
Foods you can eat if you change how they’re prepared
Some foods need preparation rather than a blanket ban. The BOS advises cutting sandwiches, fruit and vegetables instead of biting directly into them; the AAO also recommends small pieces and gentle chewing.
- Apples and carrots: Cut apples into small, manageable slices instead of biting into a whole apple. Cooking carrots until soft is an easier option than crunching through raw ones.
- Pizza: Choose a soft crust, cut the pizza into small pieces and leave hard, crispy edges uneaten.
- Sandwiches: Use soft bread and cut the sandwich into pieces. Avoid hard rolls, dense bagels and tough crusts.
- Meat: Choose tender meat and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Skip pieces that remain tough or very chewy.
These adjustments reduce the need to bite forcefully with your front teeth. They do not make every hard food suitable: chopping nuts or breaking hard candy into smaller pieces does not turn them into braces-friendly snacks. See the AAO’s preparation advice and foods-to-avoid list.
Foods to avoid throughout treatment
The AAO recommends avoiding:
- Hard candy and chewing ice: Both put force on teeth and braces.
- Sticky candy: Caramel and taffy can cling to braces and loosen brackets.
- Popcorn: Kernels and pieces can get caught around brackets and wires.
- Nuts: Their hardness poses a risk to the appliance.
- Hard chips and pretzels: Crunching them can damage brackets or wires.
- Hard pizza crust, bagels and hard rolls: Crispness, density or chewiness can make them difficult to eat safely.
These are appliance-protection restrictions, not simply a temporary diet for sore teeth. For chewing gum, ask your orthodontist before trying it; our guide to gum with braces explains why sugar-free gum needs a separate discussion.
When your teeth are sore—and after eating
After fitting or adjustments, choose foods requiring little chewing, such as yogurt, soup and soft pasta. Tenderness may last a few days; you can return to a broader braces-friendly diet as eating becomes comfortable. For meal ideas, see soft foods for braces.
Choose plain water or milk between meals. The BOS advises avoiding fizzy drinks, including diet varieties, because they can damage teeth. Brush with fluoride toothpaste for at least two minutes twice daily and, if possible, after lunch. Our braces-brushing guide covers cleaning around brackets.
If a bracket loosens or a wire breaks, contact your orthodontic office promptly rather than waiting for your next routine appointment. The BOS fixed-appliance guidance supports these care steps and warns that untreated breakages can slow treatment or damage teeth.