10 Tips To Celebrate Your Holidays With Braces

As the holidays quickly approach, it’s an exciting time for many people to be with family and friends. But if you have braces, your celebrations might look a little different this year — that doesn’t mean they can’t still be enjoyable! Let us show you how to celebrate the Holidays without letting your orthodontic treatment slow down the good times. With some simple steps and helpful tips, you’ll learn how to make the most of your Holiday season while wearing braces. Read on to see our guide full of ideas and information so that you can still smile away through this festive period in style despite having braces!

How To Celebrate Your Holidays With Braces?

Go through the section below to understand how to take care of your braces during the upcoming holidays.

Get creative with your food choices.

Holiday meals often contain some of our favorites, such as chewy caramel apples or pecan pies. While these are delicious treats, they can wreak havoc on braces due to their sticky texture. Instead, opt for softer desserts like angel food cake or no-bake cookies. 

Avoid hard candy

Hard candy is off-limits when you have braces because it can cause damage to brackets and wires. Stick with chocolate candies instead; rinse after eating to avoid plaque buildup around the brackets. 

Take extra precautions with nuts.

Nuts are a popular holiday snack, but they should always be avoided when wearing braces because they can get stuck between teeth and cause damage to wires and brackets. If you must eat nuts while wearing braces, chop them up into small pieces before eating them, and brush afterward to remove any debris that may have gotten stuck in your braces. 

Cut food into smaller pieces

Cutting food into smaller pieces makes it easier to chew and swallow without damaging your braces or getting any food particles stuck. This is especially important for foods like corn on the cob or stringy vegetables like celery that could get tangled up in your wires and brackets if not appropriately cut before eating them. 

Don’t forget about oral hygiene.

It’s easy to forget about oral hygiene during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Still, you must stay on top of brushing and flossing regularly, so your braces don’t succumb to plaque buildup or bacteria growth due to neglecting oral hygiene routines during this time of year.  

Be mindful when drinking hot beverages.

Hot drinks like cider or cocoa can quickly heat brackets and wires if not sipped slowly enough—so take care when consuming these types of drinks over the holidays!  

Choose water over a soda.

Sugary sodas should always be avoided when wearing braces. The reason behind it is pretty simple – they stick onto brackets and wires much more easily than other beverages do, leading to an increased risk for plaque buildup around them and enamel erosion from all that sugar sitting on teeth throughout the day (or night!). Water is a much better choice for keeping teeth clean and hydrated!  

Wear a mouthguard if participating in sports

Participating in sports over break? Make sure you wear a mouthguard during practice or playtime to protect your teeth and braces from any potential damage caused by contact sports like football or basketball—even if it’s just a friendly game among family members!  

Use wax sparingly

Brace wax is excellent for relieving uncomfortable areas where brackets meet skin, but too much wax can attract debris which leads to plaque buildup around those areas—so use sparingly!  

Visit your orthodontist

Before taking off for a break with new braces, make sure that you schedule an appointment with your orthodontist first so he/she can check how everything looks before you head out on vacation! This way, if anything needs adjusting while away from home, then at least those adjustments will already be taken care of upon return. So, any additional appointments won’t need to be set up when back home again (unless necessary).

Celebrating the holidays doesn’t have to mean compromising your dental health when wearing braces. Just follow these tips above & enjoy all the festivities without worrying about damaging your beautiful smile. From cutting food into smaller pieces & avoiding hard candy altogether to taking extra care with oral hygiene & using wax only sparingly, following these tips will ensure that celebrating this season is still possible even with brand-new metal accessories gleaming in each corner of every smile! Happy Holidays everyone!