How To Enjoy Easter With Braces

 

If the Easter Bunny is headed to your house and your child has braces, you don’t have to turn him away. Just make sure he leaves treats that can be enjoyed without any damage to their brackets or wires.

What Not to Eat if You Have Braces

On Easter, it’s best to avoid any sugary treats on Easter if you have braces. However, part of the fun of the holiday is getting candy. Since it’s likely you won’t be able to avoid candy altogether, it’s best to leave out the candy that can do the most damage to braces. This includes:

• Anything with caramel or nuts
• Taffy
• Jelly beans
• Peeps
• Candy-coated chocolate or malt eggs

Candy You Can Eat if You Have Braces

Luckily, there are many types of treats that are safe to enjoy with braces. Chocolate without nuts is soft and won’t get as stuck in braces as taffy, caramel, or jelly beans. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Nestle Crunch and Three Musketeers are good chocolate options, in addition to plain chocolate bunnies and eggs. Plain M&Ms are a good option because their candy coating is thinner than candy-coated eggs. Just be sure to brush and floss thoroughly after you eat any candy. This will help remove any bits of chocolate lingering in your braces.

Homemade goodies, like brownies or cupcakes, are also good options. They are soft, and it’s possible to reduce some of the sugar in them by replacing it with a different type of sweetener.

Easter Gifts for Kids With Braces

Easter baskets don’t have to be filled with only candy. We don’t know many pre-teens or teens who would turn up their noses at an Amazon or iTunes gift card, a new case for their cell phone, makeup, a video game, or the next book in the series they are reading.

You can also encourage your child’s favorite hobby with gifts in their Easter basket. If you have a budding artist in your family, include paintbrushes, paints, a new sketchbook or pencils in their Easter basket. For a dog lover, you could include a book about teaching your pet tricks, a dog-themed t-shirt, or a gift card to the pet store or for animal training classes.

Another option is to fill a few plastic eggs with dollar bills (five-dollar bills if you’re feeling generous) instead of jelly beans.

Including Easter treats that are safe for kids braces ensures everyone will enjoy the holiday, rather than worrying what to do with a loose bracket or broken wire.