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If it’s your first Thanksgiving dinner with braces, you might be a bit nervous. After all, broken brackets and wires can take the fun right out of feasting! 

Thankfully, we can help make your holiday meals more enjoyable with some menu tips for braces-friendly foods. 

#1 Be Choosy about Snacks

Thanksgiving is often more than one meal—it’s a whole day of nibbling. Just be sure to enjoy snacks which are safe for your brackets and wires while you wait for the turkey to make its appearance. Avoid foods like crunchy raw vegetables, nuts, popcorn, and chips, which can be hard on your braces. Instead, go for the softer selections on the appetizer tray:

• Sliced and cubed fruits
• Soft breads 
• Deviled eggs
• Spreadable or thinly sliced cheeses
• Meatballs
• Thinly sliced, soft deli meats

#2 Tweak Tradition as Needed

Some items on the traditional menu can be enjoyed as is, and some can be safely eaten with just a bit of tweaking. 

• Creamy mashed potatoes and gravy are good to go
• Soft-cooked vegetables are easy on braces and filled with nutrients
• Turkey and ham are safe if you cut the meat from the bone and into bite-size pieces
• Choose jellied cranberry sauce instead of crunchy versions
• Stick to the soft, non-crunchy parts of dressing or stuffing and add some gravy for moisture
• Enjoy rolls and bread without nuts or hard crusts

#3 Don’t Forget Dessert!

Luckily for us, many of our favorite Thanksgiving desserts are easy on braces. Delicious, braces-friendly choices include:

• Pumpkin pie
• Cheesecake
• Apple pie with ice cream 
• Soft cakes
• Puddings
• Soft truffles

Which desserts should wait until you’re finished with your orthodontic treatment? Nutty and chewy desserts and candies like pecan pie and caramels can cause loose or damaged braces, so it’s a “No, thank you” this year to the sticky, crunchy, and chewy items on the dessert buffet.

#4 Good Dental Hygiene Doesn’t Take Holidays Off

Holidays are busy, with shared meals and travelling and get-togethers in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, La Pine or Sisters OR. But it’s still essential to make time for proactive dental care, especially now that you wear braces. 

Food which gets stuck in your brackets and wires isn’t just annoying, it’s also bad for your tooth enamel. When food sticks around, the bacteria in plaque use those sugars and carbs to create acids which erode teeth and lead to cavities. And since Thanksgiving day is often filled with nibbling on foods high in sugars and carbs, your teeth might need some extra TLC throughout the day.

• If you’re home, brush and floss as usual after eating. If you’re travelling, bring a kit with a travel-size toothbrush and toothpaste and some floss to keep your braces and teeth clean and your breath fresh throughout the day. 
• If you’ve been eating acidic foods, wait about 30-60 minutes to brush. Acids weaken enamel temporarily, and, until the enamel rehardens, brushing can be abrasive.
• Hydrate with water. Water helps wash away food particles from teeth and braces and helps neutralize enamel-damaging acids in foods like cranberry sauce and sodas.

The team at The Brace Place wants you to have a wonderful holiday with family and friends while you’re on your way to a beautiful, healthy smile. If you have any questions on just which foods should and shouldn’t be on your menu this Thanksgiving, talk to Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang to discover the best ideas for stress-free holiday feasting.

You and your braces will become good friends over the coming months or years, so it’s important to get your relationship off to a good start. Consider the following recommendations to prevent rocky times ahead:

1. Floss, floss, floss. Yes, it’s a pain to floss around your braces, but it's the best way to prevent gum disease and other oral health problems. Ask Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang and our staff for floss threaders to make the chore easier. Just a few minutes per day will ensure that you don’t face significant dental health issues when the braces come off.
2. Avoid sticky or hard foods. It’s tough to forgo toffee, caramel, gum, and other favorite sticky treats, but your braces will thank you. Sticky or hard foods can break a bracket or wire, so it’s best to avoid them altogether.
3. Chew with your back teeth. If you’re used to taking large bites with your front teeth, it might be time to switch your eating habits. Taking a large bite of food with your front teeth can leave your braces vulnerable to damage. Instead, cut large foods into pieces and use your back teeth to chew. This is especially important with corn on the cob, which should always be cut from the cob.
4. Wear rubber bands and headgear. Rubber bands, headgear, and other orthodontic appliances may seem annoying, but failing to comply with wearing them can increase the length of your treatment by months. Wear them now to avoid problems in the future.

Most of our patients at The Brace Place will need to wear rubber bands at some point during their orthodontic treatment. The main reason our patients are instructed to wear rubber bands is to correct their bite. If your teeth do not fit together properly, Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang will recommend that rubber bands be used. Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang may also recommend using rubber bands to close or open spaces.

Rubber bands are a critical part of your treatment, and wearing them as Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang and our team recommend will help move your teeth into the desired position. Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang may ask you to wear your rubber bands full time, meaning that they should only be taken out when you brush and floss your teeth three times a day. Other times, you may be asked to only wear them part-time, like only during the day or only during sleep.

If you still have any questions about orthodontic rubber bands, we invite you to give us a call or ask us during your next adjustment appointment. Remember, wearing rubber bands as prescribed by Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang is an important step during your treatment, and can reduce the time you have your braces. If you lose your rubber bands or run out, stop by our Bend, Redmond, Prineville, La Pine or Sisters OR office and pick up more!

Most parents know that routine dental care should begin during their child’s toddler years. And many assume they must wait until their child has all of his or her permanent teeth to visit Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang for an initial orthodontic consultation.

The ideal age for an orthodontic evaluation is age seven. At that age, your child will have a mixture of adult and baby teeth for Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang and our team at The Brace Place to make a determination about whether any problems are present. Typically the first molars have come in by the time your child turns seven, giving us an opportunity to check for malocclusion, also known as “bad bite.” Also, by the time your child reaches the age of seven, the incisors have begun to come in, and problems such as crowding, deep bites, and open bites can be detected.

When Dr. Quas, Dr. Wiater and Dr. Kang and our team perform an evaluation on your child at an early age, you get one of two positive outcomes. Although treatment usually will not begin until one to five years after the initial evaluation, it’s still helpful in determining whether your child has any problems with the jaw and teeth early when they are still easy to treat. Earlier treatment can also cost less to correct a potential problem than delayed treatment.

Early evaluation, of course, may signal a need for early treatment. For some children, early treatment can prevent physical and emotional trauma. Aside from spurring years of harmful teasing, misaligned teeth are also prone to injury and are detrimental to good oral hygiene.

If your child is approaching age seven, or has already surpassed his or her seventh birthday, it is time to schedule an appointment for an initial examination at The Brace Place.