You could also harm your braces when you aren’t careful enough or don’t eat healthy foods. This could result in costly repairs as well as the need to put on new braces for longer than planned. Greg Asatrian D.D.S.M.S. shares his top braces-related tips.

Beware of foods that are extremely hard like crutons, ice cubes whole apples, hard candy, crunchy pretzels sandwich sandwiches with hard roll or corn on the cob. Hard foods like these can make braces fall off if you try to eat them. Avoiding biting down on hard foods using your front teeth can reduce the length of length of time you have to wear braces.

Beware of sticky food items such as caramels, licorice, chewy chocolate, soft candy or gum. Sticky foods can make braces stuck. They can lead to decay through the growing of bacteria. Your braces’ components are susceptible to damage by chewy foods.

Foods that are high in sugar can trigger rapid growth of bacteria inside the mouth. The mouth makes acid in order to battle the harmful bacteria. When you do eat sugary food, ensure that you clean or rinse your mouth thoroughly with water afterward. This can reduce the likelihood that acid will damage not just your teeth but also braces. 5mx1d4aofb.