Protect Your Braces During Halloween

With Halloween around the corner, those treats can end up being a tricky proposition on patients and their appliances. Which is why the orthodontist’s offer the community five important tips to protect braces, aligners and other orthodontic “appliances” in addition to protecting teeth from decay.

1. Avoid the sticky sweets: To protect your braces and aligners, we recommend staying away from hard, sticky, crunchy or chewy sweets and snacks, which include gummies, liquorice, and bubblegum (even the sugarless kind, jelly beans and soft drinks.
2. Say “boo” to hard treats: Including nuts or nut-filled sweets, and popcorn (especially unpopped kernels).  And whether in orthodontic treatment or not we recommend at all costs avoid chewing on ice.
3. Remember to brush up!: Sweets can lead to cavities, which means brushing and flossing daily are more important than ever during the Halloween season.  Orthodontic patients should be especially vigilant about brushing and flossing after consuming sugary or starchy foods.
4. Not all Halloween is off-limits: Some alternatives this season include soft chocolates or other melt-in-your-mouth varieties which if you are careful wont damage your braces or your teeth
5. Commit to maintaining oral health: You’ll increase your success rate if you’re able to commit to avoiding hard and chewy treats BEFORE the Halloween season, and in doing so, reduces the chance that you’ll break something on your braces.