Cereal can be as boring or as exciting as you choose: from gray flakes to every color and shape known to man. But is it safe to eat your regular breakfast now you have braces? Luckily that’s pretty simple.
Can You Eat Cereal With Braces?
Yes, most cereal is safe to eat with braces – though there are some cereals you should avoid. Cereal is mostly pretty soft, and when you add milk it gets even softer. If you’re a fan of crunchier cereals, try switching to something softer.
The key problem is that biting into hard things can push a bracket off of your tooth – aka break a bracket. That stops the braces wire from having anything to anchor off of. That means you’ll need to go back to your orthodontist to fix it, which will add time to your treatment.
Another thing that is really important to note is that cereals are nearly all way too sugary. Most aren’t a healthy breakfast option because of all that added sugar. Even if a cereal says it’s “healthier” or has reduced sugar, you should actually check the amount of sugar on the box.
Sugar is bad for teeth in general and worse for braces. Because you have things attached to your teeth now, the sugar clings to your teeth a little easier. That doesn’t mean you can eat cereal with braces, just that you need to take extra care.
Read on for some helpful tips, cereals you should avoid, plus the most popular cereals and how safe they are: –
Top Tips For Eating Cereal With Sugar
Braces Tip #1 – Soft + Soggy = Good
If you have a harder, chunkier cereal then you can just leave it longer or heat it up a bit to make it softer. You can even do things like overnight oats where you soak your breakfast in milk overnight to get it even softer.
Braces Tip #2 – Don’t Eat Cereal Without Milk When You Have Braces
This should go without saying. Hard and crunchy = bad for braces. Always use milk (any kind is good) or water if you’re into that kind of thing.
Braces Tip #3 – Rinse, Floss + Brush
If you insist on having sugary cereal, make sure you clean your braces shortly after eating. When you rinse out your bowl, rinse your mouth with water too. You could also use a water flosser to quickly remove any chunks and sugary bits in your braces.
Then you should brush 30-60 minutes later with a good electric toothbrush. Waiting gives your tooth enamel a chance to remineralize. Basically, the outer part of your tooth gets softer after eating, and you should for it to get a little harder before you brush.
What Cereals Should You Avoid With Braces?
In general, you want to avoid any cereals that are hard or crunchy. Biting into hard things can push brackets off of your teeth, which can be costly and extend your treatment time. big, chunky granola
You also need to try and avoid nuts. Whole nuts are a definite no, though you might get away with smaller chopped nut pieces. You shouldn’t eat nuts with braces, even in cereal. Because they’re so hard they really put you at risk of breaking a bracket or wire.
Can You Eat Soggy Cereal With Braces?
Yes, the soggier and softer the better! Don’t leave food out too long for general food safety reasons, but 5-10 minutes is fine. Especially with things like muesli, granola, or anything with the word “crunch” in it.
Can You Eat Muesli With Braces?
Yes, you can eat muesli, but it can be quite annoying to eat while you have braces. The chunks tend to get stuck in your braces gaps easily, and it can hard to get them out. Big chunky raisins or dried fruits are also awkward.
In general, the crunchiness is on the line of acceptable with braces. If you’ve had a wire change in the past few days – avoid muesli and granola.
We’d recommend avoiding anything with nuts or dried fruit, and trying to leave the muesli to soak. You could also heat the milk first or just chuck the whole thing in the microwave for a little bit.
Can You Eat Granola With Braces?
Granola is basically condensed muesli, and ends up being a lot crunchier than most cereals. While it’s possible to eat granola with braces, we’d suggest letting it soak for much longer than others.
In general, the crunchiness is on the line of acceptable with braces. If you’ve had a wire change in the past few days – avoid muesli and granola.
Can You Eat Cheerios With Braces?
Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios are just about fine to eat with braces. Let them soak a little longer to get rid of some of the crunch and you should be fine. Avoid after a wire change. Still, they’re very sugary so maybe don’t have them every morning?
Can You Eat Lucky Charms With Braces?
Yes, you can eat lucky charms with braces safely. They’re basically cheerios with extra marshmallow shapes. Let them soak a little and chew softly if you’ve got lots of sharp shapes. Because they’re so very sugary, you’ll really need to rinse and brush your teeth after eating.
Can You Eat Corn Flakes With Braces?
Corn Flakes are a really safe option to eat with braces because they’re so soft. They also get really mushy after leaving them in milk for a few minutes. That makes them perfect after a wire change.
Can You Eat Frosted Flakes With Braces?
Frosted Flakes are also safe to eat while wearing braces, but are way more sugary than standard cornflakes. Make sure to rinse your mouth out with water after, then brush and floss 30 minutes after eating.
Can You Eat Rice Krispies With Braces?
Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies are good braces breakfast food because they get soft really fast. Otherwise, they’re very sugary. Anything which is made of puffed grains is generally a safe bet.
Can You Eat Cap’n Crunch With Braces?
Crunch Berries, Peanut Butter Crunch, Oops! All Berries, Christmas Crunch, Halloween Crunch, and all of the various Cap’n Crunch cereals are pretty crunchy. You could probably get away with eating them with braces but we wouldn’t suggest it.
For now, switch to a softer cereal or look at our suggested breakfast foods for braces below. If you insist on eating Cap’n Crunch for breakfast, leave them to soak for a while or use hot milk.
Can You Eat Shreddies With Braces?
Shreddies are popular but are still quite crunchy and hard for eating while wearing braces. If you’ve just had a wire chance they’re probably a no. If you are going to try anyway, leave them to soak in the milk or heat the milk first.
Can You Eat Weetabix With Braces?
Weetabix are a decently healthy option and get soft quite fast. As a result, you can eat Weetabix with braces safely. If you’re still quite sore you can mash the biscuits up easily.
Can You Eat Froot Loops With Braces?
Fruit loops can be pretty crunchy but if you let them soak in milk, they’re mostly safe to eat while wearing braces. However, brightly colored food enriched with sugar isn’t a very healthy breakfast – consider switching to something healthier.
Can You Eat Frosted Mini Wheats With Braces?
Frosted Mini Wheats are fairly safe to eat while wearing braces as long as you soak them first. Unfrosted is healthier, and chocolate and little bites flavors are unhealthier. Big bites are harder to eat.
Can You Eat Life Cereal With Braces?
Most of the Life Cereals like Original, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Chocolate are safe to eat with braces. Again, let them soak longer than normal because big and crunchy don’t go well with braces.
All of them have 8-10 grams of sugar per serving though. Don’t be fooled into thinking something called “Life”, that’s marketed with nice primary colors is healthy.
Can You Eat Honey Bunches Of Oats With Braces?
These have an interesting mix of different textures, which are mostly safe to eat with braces. Just make sure the milk soaks in to soften them up.
Can You Eat Fruity Pebbles With Braces?
Fruity pebbles are pretty soft after soaking in milk, so you can eat them with braces. But they’re another multi-colored cereal that are definitely not a healthy breakfast option.
Can You Eat Special K With Braces?
Special K, Red Berries, and other flavors are all pretty safe for braces. They’re basically cornflakes so get soggy and soft nice and fast.
Can You Eat Reese’s Puffs With Braces?
Yes, Reese’s Puffs can be safe to eat with braces if you let them soak in milk first. Any cereal based on a chocolate snack probably isn’t a healthy option though.
Can You Eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch With Braces?
With “crunch” in the name, this cereal comes with a warning for those with braces. Crunchy and hard cereals are things to avoid, especially after a wire change.
You’ll probably be able to get away with eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch with braces, but make sure you let them soak in milk for a while first. However, if you can, avoid it.
Can You Eat Raisin Bran With Braces?
Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran Crunch can be dangerous to eat with braces. Raisins are sticky and chewy, and these types of foods can lead to a broken bracket. You should probably not eat Raisin Bran while wearing braces.
Can You Eat McDonalds Breakfast With Braces? McMuffins, Hash Browns + More
If you’ve already decided you’re having Mcdonald’s for breakfast, we probably can’t stop you now. Surprisingly though, Mcdonald’s breakfast options aren’t too bad for braces.
The Egg and Sausage McMuffins are fairly soft, so it’s possible to bite into them without too much trouble. However, biting into things with your front teeth while wearing braces isn’t always safe – even if things aren’t soft.
Basically, you’ll get away with it but might have a lot of cleaning to do after, to get the bits out of your braces. Hash browns are absolutely fine as they’re so soft. The sausage, bacon, and eggs are also really soft so mostly fine.
Hotcakes are an option in some locations, and as they’re basically tiny pancakes they’re also fine to eat with braces. The harder biscuits are mostly ok as they are pretty crumbly. If you want to be safe, eat everything with a knife and fork, cutting pieces instead of biting directly into them.
If you live where Mcdonald’s serves breakfast rolls, they can be a little harder to bite into and chew. Again, consider tearing or cutting off chunks instead of biting directly. Mcdonald’s porridge is a really easy safe option.
Braces Friendly Breakfasts
There are plenty of good options for foods that are safe to eat with braces at breakfast. The main thing you want to just avoid hard, sticky, gummy, anything that needs a big bite, or things that could stain.
Sugary foods aren’t great for overall tooth health or braces, but a certain amount is expected. A lot of breakfast foods tend to be quite sugary. Honestly, that’s a bad thing and most people (Americans especially) should aim to lower their sugar intake.
Some good breakfast meals with braces are: –
- Oats / Porridge – Boring but cheap, healthy, and easy to make. Oats are great to eat with braces, especially softer oats that have been heated. You can spice things up a little by adding fruits like chopped apple, maybe some cinnamon, or whatever combo you can think of.
- Cream of Wheat – This is a brand of oat porridge that is made of the bits of oats that are leftover from milling wheat. It’s a super-soft and cheap breakfast meal that’s totally safe for braces.
- Yogurt – Greek yogurt especially is high in protein. Add oats or some fruits that are safe to eat with braces. We love blueberries and a tiny squeeze of honey. Leave overnight to soften anything you put in it.
- Eggs – Scrambled eggs and soft, buttery toast are always a treat. Most eggs are great for braces, soft-boiled with soldiers (toast strips), fried, or in an omelet with some soft veg.
- Pastries – I eat a pastry almost every single day. It’s not exactly the healthiest option but that won’t stop me.
- Most soft cereals – Crunchier cereals that are hard to break can be softened by leaving them in milk for a while. However, anything that goes soggy and doesn’t crunch when you bite will be mostly fine.
- Pancakes / Crêpes – Soft, fluffy goodness. Totally safe to eat with braces.