How to Choose Foods for a Child with Braces
Braces can give your child one of his or her most difficult periods in life. Apart from the pain and changes in face appearance, braces can also deprive him or her of some of his or her favourite food. This is true for the initial period. Eating hard food increases braces pain and the focus is on getting food which do not require much effort from the teeth. Things get easier as time pass and the child can move on to harder foods. Hard food not only causes pain but also damages the braces and their performance. Make a list of easy food you can make or get him or her so that this difficult period is made as easy as possible. Food selection is really easy as long as you stick to the basic principles.
Instructions
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Soft food:
The basic principle is to go for food that does not have chewed much. Such food should involve the teeth as little as possible. Food ingredients that are crunchy and hard will damage the braces and cause pain. Select soft bread or soft cereal for breakfast. Oatmeal is also a good choice. Instead of toasting the bed hard, give it to him or her fresh. Vegetables can be softened up by cooking them in gravy or made into a soup.
Avoid food that sticks to the teeth like pop corn, crunch and granola bars. These food get stuck to the braces and damage them. Also reduce the amount of starchy foods because they increase the buildup of plaque in teeth.
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Liquids:
Soups are not only delicious and nutritious but are also easy to swallow and eat. It is the best way to incorporate chicken and vegetable into your child's diet with putting burden on his/her teeth. Incorporate at least a single serving of soup daily in the child's intake.
Try to give most food in a liquid or smooth paste form. If your child is demanding to eat apples which are crunchy and may hurt his/her teeth, you can make him or her an apple juice to satisfy the craving.
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Cut bites:
Cut fruits and other food items into bite sized pieces to ease the work for the teeth. The more finely your process food before it enters the mouth, the better it is. Encourage the child to make bites for himself on the plate using knife and fork, instead of biting out of the whole using his teeth.
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