How to eat with a brace and bite blocks

[black2black]

Just that really. Anything I eat goes inside the brace brackets and gets stuck behind my teeth. I have bite blocks in too which mean I can’t bloody chew anything! Does it get easier?

Bump

Only try to eat the very easiest stuff to start with. Cut it all up v small. And you don’t have to wear them all the time - it does help if you wear them to eat, but it’s impossible with some food so pick your times. And maybe do a few minutes of trying, then take them out and eat the rest of the dinner. My son mostly took them out to eat but tried to leave them in here and there where possible, and he made excellent progress.

I can’t take them out, they’re the train track ones

Yes, it'll get easier. DC2 got fixed braces a couple of months ago and lived on those baby food pouches for the first few days afterwards. The bite blocks wore down or fell out which made chewing easier.

Soft foods are your friend the first couple of weeks. Mash potato, soups etc. It does get easier though. Also it's a pain but food will always get caught around the brackets. Patients are asked to brush their teeth after every meal. You can carry a small travel toothbrush and toothpaste in your bag. The bite blocks aren't nice but they do wear down with time and your bite will adjust. Good luck!

I never had the blocks but I did have extractions which also made eating very difficult as things would get stuck in the gaps. Take your time, chew slowly, and take smaller mouthfuls than you're used to. Rinse with sips of water as you go.

I wouldn't say eating with braces gets easier but you do get used to it IYSWIM. I'm not sure there is a way of preventing food getting under the wires but I always carried a variety of tepe brushes and gave my braces a clean straight after every meal. On the plus side it really reduces the temptation to snack.

Oooh sorry I misread - was thinking of removable twin block braces.
Train tracks - I’m sure you will get used to them pretty quickly. I had them and my son does too, and after the first few days on when his teeth felt sore, he was fine with eating. Cut up small to avoid having to bite with your front teeth for the bite blocks, and everything else just eat as normal, but you’ll need to rinse out or brush your teeth after eating. You’ll be ok!