Can you eat spicy food with braces?

When you first get braces on, you will experience pain, there is no way around it. It will feel weird, you will feel that they are too tight, you may even develop a headache, and the brackets may at first lacerate your mouth. But the initial pains should be gone in about a week and things will become more comfortable. Of course your life will change, and you will need to readjust to life in braces. One of the main things to worry about is what foods you can and cannot eat. The usual provision against gooey and chewy foods is understood by all at this point, and usually people know that hard foods like nuts and raw veggies are also off limits, but some misconceptions exist about other foods, and I see a lot of FAQ questions asking about spicy foods, and whether or not they are okay. Here’s what I have gathered about this interesting topic.

Can you eat spicy food with braces

The overall consensus of the internet is no, spicy foods are not a problem, and yes, you can eat them. Eating spicy foods and chili will not hinder or slow down your orthodontic treatment in any currently known way. The bonding agent or cement used to bond the brackets to the teeth are not affected by spices at all, and the increased salivation associated with eating spicy food should also be no problem as the bonding agent is saliva resistant. However, it may be a good idea to forego the heat when you first get braces. It may be incredibly uncomfortable to eat spicy foods when your mouth is being twisted and pulled this way and that, especially if your tissues are not used to it yet. You might not enjoy the sting if all of the tissues in your mouth are inflamed and swollen from the braces, and the salivation component may also be a little hard to deal with. As your mouth gets used to wearing braces, you will get your old taste back, and you will be able to enjoy spicy foods in the same manner as you used to.

Temperature

Hot or cold foods and drinks or foods should not really affect the course of treatment either, and I do believe that they probably don’t cause pain either. They do shrink the braces and the wires though, so that may cause some minimal amount of damage. What is really important to note though is that if your teeth feel a sudden extreme change in temperature, they may crack, and the braces may also crack from suddenly being immersed in hot or cold after being in a different environment. So perhaps best to avoid piping hot coffee followed by chewing some ice, just to be on the safe side.

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