Braces-half my diet has been eliminated!

[SAMbike]

Hi,

I saw the post about foods and things to eat with braces and was wondering how things have progressed for you. I'm very interested in this because I just got braces on yesterday. Both upper and lower, and I have to wear rubber bands too! I've only eaten very soft foods. I cannot chew anything. I feel like going out and buying baby food. But I'm sure I'll be able to chew again one of these days... right? If you have any advice/lessons learned over the past few months I'd love to learn from you.

I'm concerned about eating on long training rides and during races. Luckily I can take off the bands when I eat, then brush my teeth, and put them back on, but I really should wear my bands all the time, except for during meals, and everything I read says that you should not eat sugary foods and to brush immediately after eating.

So I'd love to hear how others with braces and bands deal with eating on training rides and during races. My normal ride foods are energy bars and fruits, and my race foods are Gu and Gatorade. How will this affect my teeth? Do you all actually remove your bands to eat during a ride and put them back on? Some of my rides are about 5-6 hours long.

thanks so much!
Susan

[Bella]

I had adult braces (upper/lower) for almost three years. I was diligent about everything the ortho told me - which was to stay away from cracker jack and carmel only and that it was ok to deviate from his instruction (rubber bands nearly 24/7 except for eating), then I was to do it for valid reasons (like sports).

The food warnings are because most people are poor flossers and lax in general about teeth cleanings. With braces obviously you can't brush or floss as well - so the likelihood of plaque and food getting stuck is higher. I used a high end water pik type brush and for three years never had a cavity and ate what I wanted.

Given that your braces might be on for a year or two or more, a few hours without bands on the weekends etc are not going to derail your treatment.

If the inside of your lip is getting ripped to shreds, try the wax. Soothing relief.

If anything, the real testament to your involvement in your treatment is how often and well you wear your retainer. Your teeth WILL move back to their original position if not halted. Although I don't visit my ortho, I still wear my retainer 2x week at night. Sometimes after a stressful week, it fits very tightly....indicating they moved slightly.

Good luck and do know you can eat pretty much what you want.

[crazybikinchic]

advice from someone with to many years in dentistry for a career. Wax.yes.
For the sores, warm salt water rinses will help it heal faster.

[JoyfulGirl]

wasn't biking when I had my braces as a teen but was involved in a lot of sports.
Bananas were my friends.
individual cups of apple sauce
yogurt cups
cups of fruit cocktail
I hate jello but I'd put mandarin oranges in it and could eat it...
Anything that I could pretend was a liquid, shake up, and suck down out of a cup was great by me.
I'd super duper overboil chicken and shred the heck out of it
For meals at home mashed potatos were great. Drown em in gravy with meat bits or super shredded chicken again.
individual servings of oatmeal, toss them in a coffee cup and drown them in milk and drink them down, same with cream of wheat..

I think I -gained- weight during brace time because of an excessive fondness of creamy peanutbutter chocolate milkshakes

The fist 2 weeks really were agony, then the 3 days after they were tightened. :/

The wax really helps when it's too much to bear, and it's handy to keep it around in case you break a wire or pop a bracket. It can be painful if it springs out and starts grinding away at your checks or gums. Handy to keep just in case...

It's probably gross but after quick snacks I'd rinse and spit.. Brush after meals but for snacks at track meets or anything... I was the super stealth rinse and spitter. The ortho never noticed if I was doing that, the only time he noticed was if I slacked off on twice daily flossing and 3 times a day brushing.. As long as I did that I was pretty good in his eyes.

I was noncompliant about my retainer and finally my ortho suggested a permanent retainer.. It is indeed -permanent- I have it these 12 years later still. But well worth it to not have to fuss with it and remember it. Just a thin metal band behind my back teeth. I wish my teeth weren't -quite- so straight even. It's almost abnormal, the regularity and perfect straightness. Strange how sometimes beauty's in the quirks

Good luck with braces everyone who has em, not dissing the straight teeth. Just strange how nowdays people can have absolutely perfect looking teeth I find myself admiring a pointy eye tooth now and again <G>

[SAMbike]

Thanks so much for the advice and words of support from everyone! I *really* appreciate it!!!

Using a camelback while racing yesterday was quite an experience. I had to stick it waaaay back by my molars and try to gently squeeze... I wound up not drinking very much (only about 50 oz. during a 2.5 hour race) which isn't good. And getting Gu into my mouth... I realize I rely on my front teeth for so much! I'll get better at it I'm sure.

Many thanks again,
- Susan

[annie]

And getting Gu into my mouth... I realize I rely on my front teeth for so much! I'll get better at it I'm sure. Susan

You definitely WILL get better at it...... You'll get used to metal in your mouth, and irritation; your mouth will get more accustomed to it, also, and not react so easily. You'll find you'll be able to eat almost anything, as long as you do it carefully and cut things into small pieces. The small pieces help quite a bit! Then you don't have to bite with the front teeth, just chew.

I've had braces, top and bottom, for three years, 4 months, and 8 days. Can you tell I'm counting?? The back bands came off a week ago. The rest come off on June 19th!!!!! I am so excited. And so happy. And I do not regret for a single moment having to wear them for so long. It will be worth it, even tho' I still have to have some restorative work done. So hang in there, you'll be glad you've done this.

annie

[Crankin]

This is why I did Invisalign... I had regular braces as a kid for like 4 years. After that and 4 extractions (I have a teeny mouth), my bottom teeth still went back to their original position. One tooth was totally behind another.
I wore the Invisalign for about a year and nine months. The good thing was with them is that I just didn't wear the aligners when I was riding and drinking anything sugary (water is OK). The few hours I had them out didn't seem to affect the course of treatment. It's been 3 years and I still wear my retainer aligners when I go to sleep. I was told that I could wean off of them, but any time I do, I notice my teeth start moving back to the original position. Very slight, but I notice it. Basically, the dentist told me that this always happens, no matter what kind of braces you have and you pretty much have to wear a retainer a few hours a day forever.
Whe i saw my son last weekend, I saw that despite his braces at ages 10-13, his bottom teeth are totally out of line and basically look like mine did before the Invisalign.

[indysteel]

Not that I don't find this subject interesting--I've been wearing braces since October of 2007--but I always find it odd when an old thread on a random topic gets revived. Short of doing a search for braces, I'm not sure how one would even find it.

That said, I can eat just about anything now so long as I'm careful and if don't mind spending some time cleaning my teeth after my meal. I had 4 extractions last September and that was tough going for a while, but even that got better after a couple of months. Sadly, I've not lost any weight because when I am having trouble, ice cream is my best friend.

[lph]

Oo, this thread freaked me out a little. My son is small and slight, but has BIG HUMONGOUS TEETH, thanks to both me and his father. And they're coming out ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I find it charming, and that big eyetooth completely on the outside of all of the other teeth gives him a wonderful, quirky vampire look... but braces, here they come.

Guess I'll just have to snap plenty of pics of him now before the vampire look goes away.

[bmccasland]

I had front teeth that were shifted slightly over, thus my canine (eyetooth) stuck out in front. I wore braces on my top teeth, with monthly tightenings to march my teeth into proper position. Once a month, I ate a soft food diet for a few days. But the hardest thing as I recall (it was a *few* years ago ), was playing my flute - curling my lip properly was difficult, especially when my teeth were tightened - that dental wax was my friend. Got my braces off during finals week my freshman year of college. That was SO much fun!

[ColoKate]

I had adult braces a few years ago and I LIVED off wraps and burritos because they were so soft and easy to eat...

I did whole wheat tortillas with eggs and cheese for breakfast, adding sauteed veggies like peppers, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and onions diced small. Mashed potatoes are good in these.

I loved wraps for lunch with stuff like turkey, a spread like hummus or cream cheese and whatever veggies/greens I could chew without pain.

For dinner I made burritos out of beans, cheese, sometimes rice, cooked or poached and shredded chicken that didn't take a lot of chewing. Or just no meat and avocado instead.

I have a slight built and was afraid of losing weight and these were good combos of healthy carbs, protein and fat according to my doc and ortho. Finding really soft food was so hard for me and my braces just killed. Good luck!

[e3rdpower]

Yes, I'm reviving an old thread because I searched for "braces".

I just had ceramic braces placed yesterday, top and bottom. Anticipated wear time one year. For me, it was a gum health issue, the crowding was causing recession. Ack.

All these tips have been very helpful, as I'm in the "I can't chew anything" phase. Thank goodness for my Blendtec. One thing I'm still trying to figure out is how I will open gels while riding. Generally I use my teeth to tear open the package. It seems that opening ahead of time could cause a messy jersey pocket. Bananas are good, and hopefully I'll be able to eat those soon, but can't carry too many of those at once. Any ideas/suggestions are welcome! (My ride this morning gave valuable lessons already. Do not pull on the water bottle valve with your teeth, as I was accustomed to. And drinking is a little interesting.) I ride mostly road, but do mountain bike as well. I already have a mouth guard en route. Hadn't thought about the Camelbak issue until I read this thread!

Thanks in advance!