Foods to Avoid

Foods to Avoid

For most situations, common sense will tell you what to avoid. Hard foods, sticky foods and foods high in sugar must be avoided. Hard foods can break or damage wires and brackets. Sticky foods can get caught between brackets and wires. Minimize sugary foods; they cause tooth decay and enamel decalcification with white spots on the teeth.  Nail biting, pencil and pen chewing and chewing on foreign objects should be avoided.

Examples of Sticky Foods to Avoid:

• Gum (sugar-free or regular)
• Licorice
• Gummy Bears
• Laffy Taffy
• Starburst
• Skittles
• Toffee
• Tootsie Rolls
• Caramels

Examples of Hard Foods to Avoid:

• Ice
• Nuts
• Hard taco shells
• French bread crust/rolls
• Corn on the cob
• Apples and carrots (unless cut into small pieces)
• Bagels
• Jolly Ranchers  
• Uncooked carrots (unless cut)

Minimize Sugary Foods to special occasions and be sure to brush after eating:

• Cake
• Ice Cream
• Cookies
• Pie
• Candy

Soft Drinks & Braces

Three out of every four drinks available are soft drinks, sports drinks, or fruit drinks—all of which can cause major damage to your teeth. Food and drinks containing high sugar contribute to tooth decay and white spots on your teeth. The bacteria that causes tooth decay and white spots thrives in a high sugar environment. Brushing is very important. Without excellent brushing, white spots can still occur, even if you drink only milk and water.

Check your nutrition labels for phosphoric acid and low pH. Drinking beverages with a pH less than 3 will cause the most damage to your teeth.

Acid and Sugar Content of Some Common Beverages

We have compiled a list of some common drinks and the concentration of acid and the amount of sugar in each. This is important since a lot of acid and a lot of sugar will cause decalcification “white spots”, on teeth. The lower the pH number the more acidic the drink. The more acidic the drink is, the greater the chance of making white spots on the teeth. The closer the number is to 7 the less likely it is to contribute to white spots.

We recommend not drinking any beverage with a pH less than 3. And limit consumption of drinks below 5.5 pH. A&W Root Beer, Dad’s, Barq’s and Mug seem to be the best soft drink, but check the label of other types of root beer as it may contain phosphoric acid and would then have a low pH.

If you would like to know what the pH and sugar content of your favorite drink is, let us know and we will test it for you.

Kathy A. Arkwell D.M.D., M.S.
John L. Schuler D.D.S., M.S.