Braces-half my diet has been eliminated!

[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

[Kitsune06]

Ack! Headgear! Thank goodness I only had to wear it at night! I totally cheered when the orodontist told me I didn't have to wear it anymore. It's been, hmmm, eleven years since I got my braces off and I still have scar tissue on the inside of my cheeks where the bits the headgear slotted into rubbed. As for the food groups, I ate them all and just got real good at sucking bits out of my braces afterward (a habit that took quite some time to break once the hardware had been removed).

I second this completely, though the only reason I ended up breaking that habit was getting my tongue pierced.


That said, it never feels 'normal' and you'll have that sorta rough feeling along your cheeks and insides of your lips, but the anchors (around your molars?) will eventually feel fairly natural... except for tune-ups. Oddly, the entire experience made tongue-piercing a non-event for me.

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.

I got really good at using my tongue to apply pressure to things like that, squishing it against the roof of my mouth. If you're wearing a bite-plate as with headgear, that might be interesting, but with the bare roof, it should work out for you. It gets scraped a little until it toughens up (the roof of your mouth, that is) but it's a very valuable skill.

[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!

[indysteel]

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!

I hate gels myself, but I do believe that they make plastic flasks for them. But even with those, you might be tempted to open the flask with your teeth. I've had my braces off for a little more than a year, and if memory serves, opening a water bottle with my teeth was only an issue when my teeth were actually sore (which was often enough, as I had my braces on for 4 years and had lots of adjustments). I had no issue using a Camelback with my braces.

As for on-bike food, I mostly stuck to bananas, Larabars, certain nuts (I could not eat whole almonds with my braces; they're just too hard) and dried fruit. But that's what I tend to eat anyway. The only thing that gave me pause was Clif Bloks. They can be tricky with braces.

Really, once the pain subsides, you should be able to eat fairly normally. When you get an adjustment, take a pain reliever before the appointment. That helps a lot. Also, stay hydrated. I found that when I got dehydrated, I was much more prone to cuts in my mouth from the braces. Keep wax containers everywhere. In your purse, on your bike, in your office, by your bed, etc., etc. Also keep Oragel or similar product handy. When you have a cut in your mouth, it helps create a protective barrier over it.

Good luck! You won't regret doing this for yourself.

[e3rdpower]

I've never worn braces, but I've also never used my teeth to open a gel. I use my fingers.

If I'm eating a gel, it's usually in a fast group ride, so I only take one hand off the bars. If I'm stopped or by myself where I can sit up and ride without hands it wouldn't be an issue for sure.

I hate gels myself, but I do believe that they make plastic flasks for them. But even with those, you might be tempted to open the flask with your teeth. I've had my braces off for a little more than a year, and if memory serves, opening a water bottle with my teeth was only an issue when my teeth were actually sore (which was often enough, as I had my braces on for 4 years and had lots of adjustments). I had no issue using a Camelback with my braces.

As for on-bike food, I mostly stuck to bananas, Larabars, certain nuts (I could not eat whole almonds with my braces; they're just too hard) and dried fruit. But that's what I tend to eat anyway. The only thing that gave me pause was Clif Bloks. They can be tricky with braces.

Really, once the pain subsides, you should be able to eat fairly normally. When you get an adjustment, take a pain reliever before the appointment. That helps a lot. Also, stay hydrated. I found that when I got dehydrated, I was much more prone to cuts in my mouth from the braces. Keep wax containers everywhere. In your purse, on your bike, in your office, by your bed, etc., etc. Also keep Oragel or similar product handy. When you have a cut in your mouth, it helps create a protective barrier over it.

Good luck! You won't regret doing this for yourself.

Thanks very much! I'm actually going to put some wax on after I brush...it took me about an hour to get some eggs and oatmeal down. I was hoping the Larabars would be OK, as they are also a normal food for me. I've already given away some KIND bars-too sticky and pieces of nuts are large and I was worried about that. I was thinking about the Clif Bloks since I could open those ahead of time, but the sticky factor definitely gives me pause. If you were able to open your water bottle with your teeth, then maybe I'll be able to pre-tear the gel packet a little bit and then open the rest of the way with my teeth. I do have a gel flask which has a bite-valve like a CamelBak, no real top so I'll try that too.

[Becky]

Tape the gel packet to your bike's top tube? I've heard that triathletes do this and just tear them off and open in one step.

[indysteel]

Right now, you're very sore. Certain things that going to be difficult for the next week or so but will become easier as the soreness lessens. As you get used to the braces, you will be able to comfortably chew most foods. You just have to be careful. I could eat things like whole nuts (minus almonds), so long as I didn't just chomp down on them. I ate apples, but sliced them first. I ate popcorn, but was careful about avoiding any kernels. I ate corn on the cob, but only in private because it took a good twenty minutes to clean my teeth. There's a learning curve, but you'll figure it out. But the first couple of weeks are admittedly tough. At the time, I was riding 200+ miles a week and living on yogurt and soup was hard, as I needed to consume a lot of calories to keep up. I was starving at times, and that induced a few breakdowns. But it got easier; I swear.

After an adjustment, you'll be sore for 24-48 hours, but it's easy to work around it. I made a lot of soup and pasta. Slossing some ice water in your mouth can also help with pain. I had a couple of instances where I had more major work done during the time I wore braces, e.g., I had four teeth pulled two years into it. That sucked, and I was dependent on Motrin. If you do use OTC pain relievers, be mindful that they're hard on your kidneys, especially with exercise. Drink lots of waters to help your kidneys out.

Let me know if you have any questions or need reassurance about something.