When you first get wires attached, or after the first couple times they get adjusted, your mouth can feel a little sore and tender. Soft, easy to chew foods will be your best option when it comes to braces and a sore mouth. While these soft foods to eat after getting braces will help to keep the inflammation and pain under control, they will also protect the brackets and keep your teeth on the right track to looking beautiful and straight.
Eating the wrong foods can actually bend and break your braces, so it’s super important to know what to eat and how to best prepare it. Experiment with these soft foods to keep your tummy full without the need for much chewing.
1. Pizza Soup
When you’re craving pizza, make this soup instead. Blend thoroughly if chewing simply isn’t an option.
2. Smoothie
Find lots of smoothie recipes here. These are a really wonderful option to get all of the nutrients that you need in once quick blend. You don’t need to chew and they fill you up when you drink them. The best part is that you can mix and match whatever flavors you want by mixing different fruits, juices, milks, greens, protein flavors, and more!
3. Yogurt
Creamy, smooth, and delicious yogurt is a favorite soft food. Buy commercial or make your own—it’s easy! Find the recipe here.
4. Mashed Potatoes
Mash boiled potatoes and mix with butter, salt, pepper, and sour cream. Try adding boiled, mashed cauliflower, carrots, or parsnips for added flavor.
5. Applesauce
Dress up canned applesauce with a dash of cinnamon or simmer your own fragrant applesauce on the stove in about 15 minutes. Find a recipe here.
6. Popsicles
Refreshing ice-cold popsicles quickly numb sore gums. Puree fruit and pour into popsicle molds before placing in the freezer for three or four hours. Alternatively, use fruit juice; and soda makes fun, fizzy popsicles.
7. Scrambled Eggs
The protein in scrambled eggs will satisfy your appetite with each fluffy forkful. Try this recipe that calls for milk, Monterey Jack (or other hard cheese), and cream cheese.
8. Baby Food Peaches
A jar of pureed peaches is fantastic at any age. Or, choose any other flavor of baby food that you like.
9. Bone Broth
When you’re sick of sweet foods, a mug of meaty bone broth hits the spot. Find out what makes bone broth so good for you and how to make it here.
10. Roasted Winter Squash
Hearty winter squashes like acorn, butternut, and banana squash are phenomenal roasted and mashed. Mix with butter, salt, and pepper, and add a little brown sugar or a pinch of nutmeg for a finishing touch.
11. Meal Replacement Shakes
Pick up a few meal replacement shakes by brands such as Ensure, Slim Fast, or Carnation.
12. Canned Chili
Canned chili is soft, and you can dress it up with some cheese, sautéed green pepper and onions, and spices like cumin, chili powder, and garlic.
13. Savory Custard with Cheese
Find the recipe here.
14. Ice Cream
Like popsicles, ice cream numbs sore mouths with each creamy spoonful.
15. Mushy Peas
Feeling British? Use frozen peas to mix up a batch of this British-style favorite. Get the recipe here.
Best ways to prepare your food
The important thing to keep in mind no matter how you choose to prepare it, you want your food to reach the ultimate softness before you eat it.
1. Steam
Simply toss vegetables into a steam basket and steam them until they’re soft and mushy.
2. Roast
If you’re making potatoes or squash, simply coat with olive oil and spread them out on a pan in the oven. Roast until soft.
3. Sautee
This is another great method for veggies. You’ll want to be sure to add a little water into the pan to get them cooked nice and soft. Scramble some eggs and cheese into them and you’ll have a full meal.
4. Bake
Baked potatoes and brownies are just two things that taste delicious when baked.
5. Simmer
You can simmer foods like oatmeal and apples to make a warm, sweet treat.
6. Blend
Smoothies and milkshakes are a great go-to for either a nutrient dense meal, or a yummy dessert after dinner.
Foods to avoid after a braces adjustment
In order to speed up your healing and relieve the soreness, you’ll want to stay away from hard and crunchy foods. They are not good snacks for braces. It’s important to give your jaw and your teeth a rest from anything that will bother your mouth even more. Some of these foods can also bend or break your brackets. If that happens, you’ll need to take another trip to the orthodontist and you may even need to wear your braces even longer.
- Crunchy foods – Chips, popcorn, pretzels, crunchy granola bars, raw veggies like carrots and broccoli, taco shells
- Sticky foods – Anything with caramel, sticky granola bars, chewing gum, sticky candy like Tootsie Rolls
- Hard foods – Hard breads, nuts, hard candy
- Corn and the cob – Or any other foods that you bite into like apples
- Gummy snacks – Fruit snacks, gummy candy
- Chewy foods – Chewy breads, pizza crust, bagels, tough meats, beef jerky, slim jims, Starburst candy
- Ice – No ice chewing (it causes your brackets to loosen). Don’t chew on your pen caps either!
Dunn Orthodontics has three offices located conveniently in Arcadia, Phoenix and Litchfield Park. We specialize in helping patients achieve the smile of their dreams, along with providing the right maintenance care to retain their investment. Contact us today for a complete dental evaluation. Together, we can give you the smile (and the confidence) you deserve.
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