Preparing for Thanksgiving While Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment

Preparing for Thanksgiving While Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and you what that means; it means spending time with loved ones while enjoying a great meal together. As much as you would love to enjoy this wonderful holiday, orthodontic appliances in your oral space may come in between you and your happiness. We understand that some types of food, such as sticky and hard foods, are out of bounds if you have braces. If you are worried about how you’ll navigate through that sumptuous thanksgiving dinner, Ferris Orthodontics has put together these tips to guide you.

For the starters

As you wait for the main course, appetizers should keep your taste buds occupied. You might want to get choosy with the type of appetizers you pick if you have braces. Thankfully, there’s an endless list of options. They include soft dips with bread, cheese, meatballs, deviled eggs, and cocktail weenies. Avoid crunchy snacks such as raw veggies, nuts, and popcorn that can harm your orthodontic appliances and teeth.

For the main course

What is thanksgiving without a nutritiously sampled and prepared main course? The good thing is most of these meals are often brace-friendly. Your orthodontic appliances are safe with:

  • Soft meats, ham, and turkey- soft cuts from turkey and ham will be harmless to both your teeth and braces. Avoid meat with stringy parts that can pull out your brackets and wires. Ensure that the meats are separated from the bone and sliced into small pieces before chewing.
  • Bread- soft bread will do no harm to your teeth and braces. However, ensure that your bread of choice has no nuts to avoid damaging your braces.
  • Stuffing- most stuffing is often soft and an ideal choice for people with braces. Before digging in, confirm if the stuffing in the buffet contains crunchy ingredients such as walnuts and pecans. Crunchy foods might harm your teeth and orthodontic appliances.
  • Casseroles- casseroles are great foods for everyone. Most recipes ensure that casseroles aim for the nutritious and softness mark. You could go for stew dishes with green beans and sweet potatoes. As long as they don’t contain marshmallows, your orthodontic appliances will be fine.
  • Vegetables- as earlier stated, avoid raw vegetables and crunchy fruits. You could take cooked vegetables as they are mostly soft textured. Enjoy potatoes in creamy, mashed, and fluffy flavors. You might also want to keep that corn cob away, however tasty it looks. If you can’t resist the corn, consider removing the kernels from the cob first before eating.

Desserts

Choosing the right dessert for your oral space and orthodontic appliances can be tricky. Most desserts have ingredients that your orthodontist warned you against biting into them. Nonetheless, fear shouldn’t be the reason why you can’t enjoy the icing on the cake for the thanksgiving dinner. Soft pastries such as cakes, pies, and cookies are ideal options as long as they don’t contain caramel, nuts and aren’t too crunchy. Puddings, Jell-O, and mousses are excellent options for dessert. Steer clear from sticky candies, caramel, and crunchy sweets as they may damage your braces and pull them apart.

Just because you have braces doesn’t mean you don’t get to enjoy the Thanksgiving tradition. However, it’s important to maintain high dental hygiene levels by brushing and flossing after every meal. This should keep the dental cavities at bay and prevent other dental problems from erupting. If you have any other concerns, feel free to contact us today!

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