Hi. My 12 year old daughter just got her braces (top and bottom on all teeth) and also a palate expander at the same time last week. She hasn't been able to eat since the day she got braces and her expander. She complains that her braces hurt, her expander is in the way and so on. This past week she has eaten nothing but soup all week. I'm worried about my daughter's health that she's not getting enough nutrients and also how her teeth are doing. She also gave me a list of how much her braces hurt and why she can't eat.

- It hurts a lot when she bites
- Everything she eats gets stuck in her expander
- The metal rings in her teeth of the expander hurts a lot
- It is hard for her to swallow
- She loves to eat popcorn and potato chips but her orthodontist said she can't

I don't know what to give my daughter to eat. When I got braces at 13 I was only not allowed to chew gum. The orthodontist never warned me about having popcorn or nuts etc. The orthodontist gave her an entire list of what not to eat like gum, raw carrots, nuts, peanuts, apple, popcorn, chips, corn chips, chocolate, candy, beef jerky, taffy, caramel, raisins, dried fruits, marshmallows, soda, sugar, steak and so on. I also have no experience of palate expanders and watching my daughter go through this is actually pretty painful. Seems pretty uncomfortable with something like that in your mouth. It's also really frustrating not knowing what to make for dinner everyday when I also have to make something different for my younger son. I have tried getting my daughter to eat solid foods today for the first time. I gave her mashed potatoes and rice and she says it keeps getting stuck.

Another problem I have is she is not able to eat her daily vitamin pill. She cannot chew it because it is very hard and hurts to chew especially hard foods and can't chew it then the entire vitamin gets stuck in her expander then we try to get it out with a toothpick. She can't have the gummy vitamins either because gummy foods get stuck in her braces.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

It's not that difficult. The expander won't hurt for much longer, but it does hurt. Try spaghetti, yogurt, tuna/chicken salad, baked potatoes, applesauce, burritos, chili, and any other soft foods. Buy her a syringe to squirt out the food when it gets stuck. She needs to make sure she takes Tylenol when she is in pain. I've gone through this, along with my two sons. It's a phase and it will pass.