Time To Pack The Lunches

Over at Silver Smile Survival she posted a blog entry about articles available for packing school lunches for back to school. Check it out. I am naturally going to throw my own two cents in.

I have a son (my 2nd to have them) with braces. I run an orthodontic office. I should know better. Yet, sometimes I find myself offering him popcorn or corn on the cob. Hello? I know, shame on me. I actually forget that he has braces and I know that I am not the only one that this has happened to.

So for lunches--keep it to softer foods and smaller bites. With braces, you can really eat just about anything as long as its arrives in your mouth as a small bite. If you have to bite something into a small bite, that's where breakage can occur. Baby carrots, apples, bagels, tortilla chips and hard crusts can all break a bracket in no time if bitten into. Go light on the sugary snacks too. Not only will the teacher appreciate the lack of sugar rush but it will be much healthier for your child's teeth. Kids with braces are more susceptible to tooth decay because food and plaque have so many more places to hide. We advise them to brush their teeth after lunch but my guess is that most kids don't. At the very least, advise them to swish really well with water to get some of the gook off then brush when they get home.

If they happen to buy lunch at school make sure they are very clear on what they should avoid or break up into small pieces and why. If they know that their braces may break from eating the wrong foods they will probably be more likely to stay away from them. Knowing the consequences helps to learn the behavior and keep good habits. They should also understand that if their braces are broken then it means that they might be uncomfortable, then they have to go to the nurse--who won't be able to do anything so she'll call your mother who has to call us then has to drop what she's doing to go pick you up from school and bring you to the office which would naturally involve readjusting everyone else's schedule too. All this could happen because of a baby carrot! Just not worth it....granted it is not life threatening and it's not done on purpose but it's a big pain in the rear nonetheless. Kids need to know this and why shouldn't they? It's all part of learning responsibility.

Happy Back to School everyone! Here's wishing you a great first day, buses on time and a huge smile (braces or not!) from your child when they get home!