The holiday season is a time of celebration, travel, and indulgence in delicious food and festive treats. While enjoying the festivities, it’s easy to overlook dental care, especially if you're wearing braces. Whether rocking traditional metal braces, clear aligners, or other orthodontic appliances, keeping your teeth clean and healthy during your travels is essential. The holidays can throw off your regular routine, but don’t worry — we've got you covered with essential travel tips to protect your smile and your braces.

Here’s how to maintain a healthy, bright smile this holiday season, even with braces!

1. Pack a Braces-Friendly Oral Care Kit

Traveling with braces means being prepared with the right tools to keep your teeth and braces in top condition. A well-stocked oral care kit will make it easy to maintain your dental hygiene on the go. Here’s what to pack:

• Orthodontic Toothbrush: Choose a soft-bristled toothbrush or an orthodontic toothbrush with a V-shaped bristle design that can clean around braces effectively.
• Toothpaste: Bring fluoride toothpaste to protect your teeth from cavities.
• Dental Floss or Floss Threaders: Traditional floss can be difficult to use with braces, so opt for floss threaders or special orthodontic floss picks that make it easier to clean between your brackets and wires.
• Interdental Brushes: These small brushes are great for cleaning between the brackets and wires where food can easily get stuck.
• Wax for Braces: Orthodontic wax can come in handy if your braces irritate the inside of your mouth. Simply roll a small piece and apply it to any areas that are causing discomfort.
• Mouthwash: An antimicrobial or fluoride mouthwash can help reduce bacteria and keep your mouth feeling fresh.

Packing these essentials will ensure that you don’t miss a step in your oral care routine, no matter where your travels take you.

2. Stick to Your Braces-Friendly Oral Hygiene Routine

The key to maintaining oral health with braces — especially when you're on the go — is consistency. Even if you're on vacation or visiting family, don’t skip brushing and flossing.

• Brush After Every Meal: Food can easily get stuck in the brackets, which makes it essential to brush your teeth after each meal or snack. Aim to brush for at least two minutes to remove food particles and plaque buildup.
• Flossing is a Must: Flossing with braces can be tricky, but it’s crucial to remove food particles that get trapped around the brackets and wires. Using a floss threader or an orthodontic-specific flosser can help you keep your teeth and gums healthy while you travel.
• Use Mouthwash for Extra Protection: Rinsing with mouthwash can help reduce bacteria and provide extra protection against cavities, especially when you can’t brush immediately after eating.

Remember, even though you might be in a new environment or on a different schedule, it’s important to maintain your oral hygiene routine as closely as possible to avoid potential complications with your braces.

3. Be Mindful of Holiday Foods (Especially With Braces)

Holidays are synonymous with delicious meals and indulgent snacks, but not all of them are braces-friendly. Certain foods can damage your braces or get stuck in hard-to-reach places, leading to plaque buildup and cavities. Here’s how to navigate holiday treats while keeping your braces intact:

• Avoid Sticky and Chewy Foods: Sticky candies like caramel, taffy, or gummies can cling to your braces and are difficult to clean off. They also put extra pressure on the brackets and wires, which could cause damage.
• Watch Out for Hard Foods: Nuts, popcorn kernels, hard candy, and even some crunchy raw vegetables can break or bend your wires and brackets. These hard foods can also be painful to chew if you have sensitive teeth.
• Cut Food into Smaller Pieces: If you want to enjoy foods like apples, carrots, or hard bread, make sure to cut them into smaller, bite-sized pieces to prevent unnecessary pressure on your braces.
• Stay Away from Staining Foods and Drinks: Beverages like coffee, red wine, and soda can stain your teeth and the clear elastics on your braces. Try to limit these drinks, or rinse your mouth with water after consumption.
• Opt for Softer Snacks: You can still enjoy holiday snacks like mashed potatoes, soft cheeses, yogurt, or baked turkey without worrying about damaging your braces. And always Christmas cookies!

Being cautious about the foods you eat will help you avoid broken brackets, painful discomfort, or increased cleaning time during your travels.

4. Use Sugar-Free Gum to Protect Your Teeth

When you have braces, it’s essential to be extra vigilant about keeping your teeth clean, especially after meals or snacks. Sugar-free gum can help clean your teeth, stimulate saliva production, and reduce the risk of cavities. If you’re stuck in an airport or at a family gathering where brushing isn’t an option, chewing sugar-free gum can be a great temporary solution.

Look for gum with xylitol, a natural sweetener that has been shown to reduce harmful bacteria in the mouth and fight cavities. Just remember to chew gently — avoid sticky gums that could get stuck in your brackets.

5. Hydrate and Keep Your Mouth Clean

The holiday season often means traveling to new places or spending time in dry, heated environments that can cause dry mouth. Staying hydrated is crucial for both your overall health and your oral health. Water helps wash away food particles, neutralizes acids, and keeps your mouth moist.

If you’re traveling to a new place, especially internationally, make sure to drink bottled or filtered water to avoid any potential issues with unfamiliar water sources that could affect your braces or oral health.

6. Prevent Braces-Related Discomfort

Holiday travel can be stressful, and if you have braces, you may experience some discomfort or irritation, particularly after eating certain foods or during long trips. Here are a few tips to minimize any discomfort:

• Use Orthodontic Wax: If your braces cause sores or irritation on the inside of your cheeks or lips, orthodontic wax can be a lifesaver. Just roll a small piece of wax and place it over any brackets or wires causing discomfort.
• Carry Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers: If your braces feel sore after an adjustment or due to eating certain foods, an over-the-counter pain reliever (like ibuprofen or acetaminophen) can help. Make sure to consult with your orthodontist for the best recommendations.
• Stay on Schedule with Appointments: If you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment, don’t forget to schedule your appointments in advance before traveling. Our Hester and Morris team are great to work with on scheduling, but we do see a lot of patients -- Planning ahead will help you get the time you want!

7. Check Your Braces for Any Issues Before Traveling

Before heading out for your holiday adventures, do a quick check of your braces. Make sure everything is in place — no loose brackets, broken wires, or missing bands. If something is loose or out of place, it’s best to get it checked by your orthodontist before your trip to avoid any problems while traveling.

Thankfully, there are no true orthodontic "emergencies". If you notice any issues while you're away, see our website and social media for videos and tips on handling bent wires or broken appliances. We're happy to repair any damage once you've returned.

Conclusion: Smile Bright, Even With Braces!

Holiday travel is all about making memories, relaxing, and enjoying delicious food, and with a little extra attention to your braces and oral hygiene, you can keep your smile healthy and bright throughout the season. By packing the right tools, sticking to your routine, and being mindful of what you eat, you can ensure that your braces don’t get in the way of your holiday fun.

Remember, a healthy smile is a beautiful smile — and it’s definitely worth the effort to protect your teeth and braces while traveling. Happy holidays, and Live Life Smiling from Hester and Morris Orthodontics! ✨

Are you ready to embark on a sweet, delicious, and braces-friendly journey?

Welcome to the whimsical world of freeze-dried candies—a tooth-friendly treat that promises to deliver the taste of your favorite sweets without the sticky aftermath that can be a nightmare for orthodontic work. Because braces have brackets and wires, there are some foods and treats that are not recommended due to the possibility of causing damage to your braces and ultimately delaying your treatment time.

In this blog, we will test these innovative confections, exploring whether freeze-dried versions of popular candies can satisfy your sugar cravings and keep your braces and orthodontist happy. Join us as we crunch, taste, and assess various colorful, flavorful selections that might revolutionize how you indulge with braces.

Get ready to satisfy your sweet tooth, brace yourself for a new experience, and find out if these treats are as good for your brackets as they are for your taste buds!

Nerd Clusters and Starbursts

Two candies that are a definite "no" in their traditional form. Typically, Nerds candies are too hard and can cause the breakage of brackets. Likewise, Starbursts, though very popular, are much too chewy to be eaten with braces. However, both candies were airy and had a light crunch in the freeze-dried varieties. We would consider this a better alternative for braces patients!

Red Hots and Jolly Ranchers

These two favorite candies did not fare so well in our braces-friendly test. Even in their freeze-dried state, the Red Hots were still much too hard, risking popping off a bracket or bending a wire.

We were surprised by the consistency of the Jolly Rancher. It was so easy to bite into it almost disintegrates in your mouth. Which sounds great for braces, right?

Unfortunately, the chewed candy was so sticky and hardened around our teeth that it could get trapped around braces, so it would be nearly impossible to brush away easily. For this reason, we do not recommend Jolly Ranchers.

What other candies would you like us to test? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Hester and Morris Orthodontics is South Georgia's Best Orthodontic Practice. We are the area's specialist in Invisalign clean aligners and braces. Let us help you live life smiling!

Click here for a list of foods we ask patients to avoid when they have braces, along with foods that are a great alternative!

Braces can be a major adjustment for anyone, especially when it comes to diet. Many orthodontists recommend avoiding hard, chewy, or sticky foods to prevent broken brackets. However, one common favorite among all ages is chicken nuggets. But can people with braces still indulge in these crispy, breaded delights?

In this blog, we will look at a few of our favorite chicken nuggets from area restaurants and see how they fare in the world of braces.

Generally, chicken nuggets are good food for patients with braces. But which ones are considered the best for braces? We recently went around town buying up chicken nuggets (for science!), and we found that some are more suitable than others when you have braces.

The restaurants we visited include Wendy's, Chick-fil-a, Sonic, Zacadoo's, and Mcdonald's. We bought these nuggets from each restaurant and brought them back to test on our own braces model.

We decided not to include chicken strips in our test because we feel chicken strips are entirely something else. Still delicious, just not nugs!

And please remember that this is strictly based on crunchiness and toughness, not taste.

Here are our findings:

1. Wendy's Chicken Nuggets

These are the middle of the road in our braces test. The soft interior makes it very easy to eat, but depending on the crunchiness of the outside, it could be difficult to bite into. Side note: Not good cold. They became tough and dry.

2. Chick-fil-a Chicken Nuggets

The Lord's Chicken Nuggets are some of the most popular in our area, so we had high hopes for them. And we were not disappointed. These nuggets were tender and juicy and had a light batter on the outside, making them easy to bite into, even with brackets. The only thing to watch for may be the denseness of the chicken itself since it's real chicken breast.

3. Sonic Drive-In Chicken Nuggets... AKA Popcorn Chicken

So while technically not a chicken nugget, these small bite-sized chicken pieces were their equivalent. Unfortunately, these did not fare well in our braces test, and we recommend caution with these while you have braces on your teeth. Or better yet, avoid them altogether and opt for other options at Sonic to prevent possible bent wires or broken brackets. We love their burgers and tots! And their milkshakes!

4. Zacadoo's Chicken Nuggets

This is a local place in our area, and it's well-known for its chicken fingers. On the day we tried them, they were overcooked and chewy, making them difficult for the braces model to bite into. The batter was much too hard to eat without possibly bending wires or breaking off brackets. Maybe these would be a good option on a better day, but we can't recommend them for our test.

5. McDonald's Chicken Nuggets

The classic! These are the nuggets that started it all, the ones we all grew up on. McDonald's chicken nuggets are known for their crispy coating, but our study found that the ones we received were surprisingly easy to bite into and even easier to eat. The coating was not too hard and would not be a problem to eat with braces on, as long as the nuggets were not too old or overcooked.

Mostly, all chicken nuggets are the same, a great food option for patients with braces. While we recommend avoiding popcorn chicken varieties due to the extreme crispness and chewiness, the classic nuggets are a great choice! Just be mindful of how your nuggets are prepared, and always be careful eating nuggets with extra heavy coating or breading. Also, watch out for overcooked nuggets, as these can be harder to bite into.

And as always -- Don't forget to brush your teeth!

So... Which is your favorite chicken nugget? Let us know in the comments below!

Pass the sauce and happy eating!

Do you or your teen have braces and find it challenging to enjoy fast food delicacies? Fear not! This blog post will explore creative ways to savor your favorite fast-food treats without compromising your orthodontic progress. Join us as we navigate the world of braces-friendly fast food indulgence, ensuring both parents and teens can enjoy their meals without worry.

Oh, the dilemma of having braces and craving your favorite fast food! Fast food has become so essential to our culture that it's hard to avoid. Plus, it's a quick and easy meal option for busy individuals. However, having braces can make indulging in fast food tricky, and it may even seem impossible at times. The good news is that many braces-friendly fast food options won't damage your orthodontic progress. It all depends on making the best choice available to you at the time.

Let's dive in and make braces life a little more delicious!

We're breaking down three of the most popular fast food types and sharing braces-friendly fast food options for each.

1. Pizza

It's not just Michelangelo; most Americans love pizza! In fact, 73% of adults* consume pizza at least once a month. So, with it being such a favorite food, is it something you can enjoy while wearing braces?

Happily, the answer is yes! While patients must be careful anytime they are directly biting into a food item, pizza is considered a braces-safe food.

But watch out for extra thick dough varieties that can get stuck in braces and can bend wires, and we do not recommend eating the end crusts of any type of pizza. Pizza crusts are too hard for braces, and biting down on them can cause breakage and extended treatment times.

2. Tacos

Not all tacos are bad for braces! While they are a common item to avoid when eating hard, crunchy shells or tortilla chips, choosing flour tortillas for soft tacos is a great option. They are soft and flexible and don't require much care like the more rigid shells. So indulge your next late-night taco craving with a soft flour tortilla, quesadilla, or burrito!

Cinnamon twists should also be traded in for the very popular cinnamon roll bites at your favorite fast-food Mexican joint.

3. Chicken

Nuggets, tenders, strips, or on the bone, Chicken is a very popular fast food choice for many families with kids.

Biting directly into chicken on the bone is not recommended because the harder bones are likely to bend the wires of braces. The same goes for wings. In these instances, we encourage our patients to cut the chicken into small pieces before eating.

Nuggets and tenders are also excellent options for people craving chicken! Smaller in size and boneless, they are considered braces-friendly food. While we should always be cautious of the amount of breading on the chicken and ensure it is not too thick or hard to bite into, chicken is an excellent choice for those who are eating fast food while having braces.

What about you?

Where is your favorite place to eat fast food while wearing braces? Do you have a favorite nugget place? Be sure to share with us in the comments below! If you ever have questions about foods to avoid with braces, you can always check out our previous blog post on the topic or call our Valdosta, GA office at (229) 245-1800. We're here to help you live life smiling!

* https://bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/4-facts-about-us-pizza-consumption

Easter is a time for celebrating and spending time with family, but for those who wear braces, it can also be a time of anxiety about what foods to eat.

Many things plentiful during this time of year are not recommended for braces, such as nuts, licorice, and chewy and gummy candies.

Thankfully, plenty of brace-approved foods are also perfect for Easter. From roasted vegetables to soft fruits and even mashed potatoes and sweet treats, there are plenty of great options to choose from that won't harm your braces. By being mindful of the types of foods you eat this holiday, you can enjoy all of your favorite Easter treats without any added stress or damage to your braces. Be good to your smile!

Here are a few of our favorite braces-friendly foods for Easter.

1. Veggies

Good for you nutritionally and orthodontically; we are big veggie fans here! Veggies are loaded with vitamins and minerals; when they are roasted, they become easier to chew. Mashed veggies, like potatoes or squash, are also an excellent option for those eating softer foods due to braces on their teeth. Avoid eating raw veggies or those with hard skins, as they can break brackets or wires.

2. Fruit

Most fruits are safe to eat when you have braces, and with the warmer spring weather, many of our favorites are in season! Strawberries and blueberries are excellent options and often make up many Easter desserts. We recommend caution when eating apples and pears and suggest that these fruits be enjoyed cut up into smaller pieces.

3. Deviled Eggs or Whole Hard Boiled Eggs

Is it even Easter in the south if you don't have deviled eggs? I mean, who would want to pass on such a classic Easter food? Also, many people still color traditional hard-boiled eggs to hide on Easter. Eggs of all varieties are safe to eat and enjoy while you are wearing braces.

4. Ham

Another Easter staple for many families, ham can be eaten when you have braces. If the outside texture is a bit chewy, you can dice it up into small pieces to make for safer eating. We love ham with brown sugar glaze or pineapple!

5. Chocolate Bunnies

The star of every Easter basket! These hollowed or solid chocolate bunnies are perfectly safe to enjoy while wearing braces. Just be sure to keep your teeth brushed soon after to avoid any cavities!

6. Chocolate Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs, PB Cup Eggs

The classics that people love to enjoy! These favorites of many people are not only delicious but okay with your braces. Just be careful anytime you are biting directly into any kind of candy, especially those with a candy-coated shell.

7. Peeps and other marshmallow treats

Marshmallow bunnies and chicks are a delicious treat to enjoy while wearing braces; just be sure to keep your bites small to avoid any potential damage to your teeth or braces. Since this treat is loaded with sugar, you will want to brush your teeth soon after eating it.

What other treats can you enjoy while wearing braces? Leave them in the comments below! We hope you all have a very blessed Easter season! Live Life Smiling!