I feel for your son. My boys have had orthodontics and my 14 year old currently has a bite plate. He spoke differently for a day or two, then he got used to it. He also lost weight in the beginning. I felt so badly for him but wanted him to cope well, so while I acknowledged his feelings and situation, I tried to move on in conversations with him about what he CAN eat, and how great he will look when it is all over with. It sounds like you're doing a great job trying to find things he can eat. It will get easier and he will figure out a way to get some of his favorite things down at some point. Even if you have to go to TV dinners (uugghh), anything really to get him to eat is worth it. My son loves COCOA wheats for breakfast. Maybe try some soft varieties of what he loves such as pizza casserole instead of pizza. In fact, he should be able to eat any kind of pasta. And chocolate is soft and will melt in his mouth.
So many kids wear braces these days that most of them think nothing of it. I hope he gets used to it all very soon.

We did pudding and Jello in the beginning along with a lot of milk. I hate Jello and the only time it was allowed in the house was dental work - expander, braces on, braces off. Maybe a soft bread with American cheese sandwich - something like a whole wheat Wonder Bread texture.

I don't remember the whole time with the expander being as painful as the beginning. I think he was able to eat candy fairly soon so your son might be okay for Halloween.

TJMB,they did say that it would only hurt during the expansion phase which is the first three weeks. But he's not supposed to eat anything sticky or gooey at all the entire time it's in so definitely Halloween is out!

I thought about grilled cheese (he wouldn't eat a regular cheese sandwich) but I think the gooey cheese would then stick and be hard to get off the expander. I forgot about jello - I'll have to make some of that for him.

Joanie, the problem I have with my kids is that once I allow them to have things that aren't good for them, on a regular basis, then they don't want to go back to the healthy stuff. For instance, whole wheat products. They don't really care for them, but they eat them. But if we go off them for too long and they get a taste for white bread products, then they complain when I switch back (things like bagels, breads, etc.). Cereal is one of those things. I rarely buy sugary cereals - they each get their favorite box on Christmas and then occasionally on vacation I'll buy a couple of boxes. But then when I start buying the non-sugar stuff, they complain and won't eat it until they realize that's all they are getting! :) And since this son is already so picky, I don't want him to think he's going to get all this unhealthy stuff while he's suffering b/c I'll have a hard time transitioning back! My other kids are already complaining about the "treats" he's getting. LOL My husband said he'd be happy to take them down to get expanders in their own mouths if they wanted to keep complaining!

This same son sees a reading tutor and an OT each once a week, then just had a battery of tests done by a language therapist for a possible learning disability, after having a similar battery of tests done this summer. He's been such a trooper through it all. My other kids don't have any of these "extra" issues going on in their lives so it irks me when I hear them complain when he gets a special treat that they don't get!

My DD's favorite candies are all the sticky, chewy ones. She has a space-keeper orthodontic device in her mouth so she can't have any of that stuff any more. It's been well over a year now so she's used to it, but she still occasionally pines for a gummy bear or Sour Patch Kid! She is generally a healthy eater and we don't buy candy unless it's for something like Halloween, so the candy question isn't too much of an issue in our house except when she empties her Halloween bag to find mostly chewy stuff.

Anyway, my kids have had various times when they've had to have soft foods (teeth pulled, orthodontia, etc) and since it's always for a limited time, I just let them eat what they want. Ice cream, yogurt, pudding, muffins, etc. You can probably look up recipes for healthy muffins and breads, and maybe if you try some different smoothies you'll find one he likes. My kids all love smoothies. You can also maybe jazz up plain oatmeal with various toppings that he might like.

Oranges, really ripe pears, grapes. Baked apples.

Pancakes or waffles (you can use whole wheat flour). Let him have breakfast for dinner, if it means he gets enough to eat. Pour a lot of milk on cereal and let the cereal soak up the milk until it is soggy. Scrambled eggs, soft-boiled eggs. Deviled eggs.

Any casserole with ground beef/turkey and rice or pasta. Chili. He may not like soup, but what about something like beef stew? or chowder? Ramen noodles.

Baked potatoes. Top with cheese.

Most cooked vegetables. Maybe cook his serving just a little bit longer to make the veggies a little tiny bit mushy.

You can try peanut butter sandwiches. The bread might keep the peanut butter from sticking to the expander and if it hurts to bite, he can pull off bits with his fingers.

You can also try adding the protein powder to yogurt and applesauce and pudding.

For candy, any basic sugar candy, like sour balls, he can just hold in his mouth until it melts. He doesn't have to chew them. Smarties are good and don't trigger many allergies. I would, based on personal experience with an expander, advise strongly against popcorn or popcorn balls.

He'll probably figure out how to talk normally in a few days.

I still have memories of all my teeth hurting so much during orthodontics that I would put a Wheat Thin in my mouth and just wait until it got soft enough that I could chew it once or twice and then swallow. Not a high point in my life, let me tell you.

I do not have any experience with orthodontic devices, but how about sweet potato fries, french fries, avocado?

What I do have a lot of experience with is kids complaining about the others getting treats. I have an 8-year-old on the autism spectrum and my 11-year-old has diabetes so sometimes the needs are that just one kid gets a special treat. Sometimes, I try to make a point of the whole family getting the special treat, as we are all in this thing called life together. This has worked both ways in our house to, when my autistic son started eating mushrooms and kale, I was allowing no excuses to any kids after that, because if he could eat leaves, then his little brother could too!

Old fashioned banana pudding, made with instant pudding.

It's very filling and somewhat healthy. You can make it the fast way with layering vanilla wafers, bananas and pudding. The wafers will soften.

I just wanted to mention a few things that were actually dangerous for my girls when the were wearing expanders.
Stringy things like spaghetti/ramen and shredded lettuce were a real choking hazard. Peanut butter was also a problem.
I can't think of many soft foods that haven't been mentioned except refried beans and potato salad.
Good luck to him. The expanding was not at all painful for either of my girls so hopefully the first few adjustment days will be the end of his suffering during the expansion stage.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Cozy, funny you mention the choking hazards from noodles. Two years ago, the 10 y/o daughter of a friend of mine choked on a piece of spaghetti (she did not have any orthodontics, just choked). After getting the strand out of her throat, she still felt like something was down her throat and got so worked up about it. She was terrified to eat and ended up with an eating disorder. It was awful. She had to go to a therapist and learn to eat again. Thankfully, she is fine now, at age 12, but it was really scary to see what my friend was dealing with simply from a minor choking on spaghetti!

Deviled eggs?

I made barbecued pork sandwiches for dinner tonight on soft buns. I ate mine with a fork. I thought of your son. It would be something he could eat.

Deviled eggs would be great for protein!

Does he like Oatmeal? If he's picky, there's the little packets of flavored instant oatmeal. You can always add a bit of milk to it if you think it's too sticky.

Definitely can emphathize with your situation. My DD has always had difficulty with any crunchy-type foods, not due to dental work, but another health problem. Fortunately, DD likes homemade soups that are pureed, like butternut squash, split pea, etc. Also, I agree with allowing your DS to have anything he feels he can handle without too much worry over how "healthy" it may NOT be (within reason, of course) since it seems that this dental work won't last too too long.

Thinning foods down is a great idea. Our go to was/is great tasting protein shakes with chopped frozen fruit and yogurt added to the protein powder of your choice. Blend till smooth and you get a pretty healthy product. Ensure was once recommended for DD, but after reading the ingredient list on the label on that type of product, I really didn't feel comfortable putting that product into her body. Mostly made up of oil, it really isn't nutritionally beneficial.

I think that not being able to eat all of the Halloween candy is really a blessing. Make some cupcakes with orange frosting and he will have his own special treat! Hope he is feeling better very soon!

Reece's peanut butter cups basically melt in the mouth. Would that be too much chocolate?

Three Musketeers has a fluffy, soft center.

I need some candy. :)

Thank you for all your suggestions! Unfortunately, with him being a picky eater (I think he has some minor sensory issues b/c much of his picky eating is a textural thing), there are so many things he won't eat that would be perfect!

Joanie, I never thought about bbq pork! He loves that. I don't make deviled eggs (funny, I was just asking for a recipe on FB for egg salad b/c it skeeves me out but my dd has been begging for it). I'm not sure he would eat deviled eggs but he does like hard boiled eggs (only eats the egg white, not the yolk, which is why he probably wouldn't eat deviled eggs). I also forgot that he likes tuna.

Oakley, he can eat chocolate, but only one or two pieces. For instance, when he has chocolate ice cream, he throws up. So I try to limit the amount of chocolate he eats. For Halloween treats, there is so much he can't eat, that I was looking for an alternative to chocolate. He can eat the chocolate, but wanted to find something else in addition.

Work in progress - I totally understand about not being able to eat the candy is a blessing. The only problem is that my other kids will all have candy and I feel badly that he'll see what they have and he can't eat most of it. Last year, I had them all go through their candy (they had a TON!) and fill one ziploc bag each with their favorites. The rest dh brought into his office. I suppose I should do the same thing again this year, and just try to find something for my son as a substitute.

he's being such a good sport but I just have this soft spot for him b/c of all the crap he has to deal with that his siblings do not. It's been like this since he was 3 when he had a staph infection in his foot and had to be hospitalized. He's gotten the short end of the stick ever since! He's such a sweet kid despite everything on his plate.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Have you tried Greek yogurt? It is a very filling food that has many flavors. My daughters favorites are coffee and chocolate. I had no clue they came in coffee!

My daughter has a expander right now. Sadly it's only her second day. There was tears in her eyes when I took her to school this morning. I couldn't live to see her in so much pain. I had let her stay home it was awful!

Don't give up on deviled eggs -- you can flavor them a million ways depending on what he does like. And the yolks don't run.

ETA: We went through the expander with one of my sons years ago and I don't remember what he was able to eat. I do remember that he'd be most uncomfortable a while after each expansion and then it would lessen until we had to turn it again. Kind of like getting a piece of something stuck between your teeth -- it can hurt at first and be impossible to get floss in there to get it out, but give it 10 minutes and no problem. My son was pretty good about shaking it off -- most of the time. He probably took ibuprofen when we did each set of turns -- I think we did them before bed and he'd take ibuprofen at night ad again in the morning, then probably not again for a few days when we'd repeat. My son was a picky eater too. I suspect we had a lot of mac n cheese, hot dogs, pasta, fish sticks, maybe hamburger patties without buns if he was too sore, and lots of applesauce and popsicles. If he everr has his tnsils out -- more popsicles or frozen fruit bars.

Fruity pebbles cereal works great because of how small it is and it gets soft

I have braces right now and it sucks

My daughter had a Herbst in her mouth. Yeah, google that. I almost choked when I saw her for the first time after they installed those. The first day, she had such a hard time and couldn't eat much. Pudding, yogurt, etc....It took her about three days to get the hang of it, but for some reason she could handle Chik-Fil-A chicken nuggets. They were soft enough for her to pick apart and eat slowly but surely.

Give it time. My son had an expanded in for a year (only cranked it for about 3 months) and it took about a week to get used to it. Once he did, he could really eat just about anything. No sticky candy and a kids water pik was very helpful. It takes getting used to for sure!

my son got his braces off last week after about 18 months of phase 1 treatment and he looks so much older and his teeth seem so big to me now. It makes such a big difference! Good luck.

My 9 year old son is getting his expander today. I've ready a lot of comments on what foods to get for him. He loves yogurt and potatoes(I'm sure I'll find him some more foods). I did buy him a kids waterpik

Hi all

My son is 12 and he said he can’t swallow any food! So he can’t eat it. He can chew it but it’s hard to go down, AND big chunks get stuck on expander top roof. WHAT am I going to do. It seems like something has prevented him from being able to swallow. Anyone understand how this is? The expander is at the roof but to swallow you use your tongue and he still has his tongue mobility? Is it just a habit that we are used to when we swallow we use our tongue and roll to the roof of our mouth and we push back in our throat to swallow. Can’t one still do so with expander inside? PLS help am stressed

My 10yr old son got his expander 2 days ago. He's having such a difficult time chewing and swallowing. He's allergic to many foods (ex. eggs,peanuts) but is able to eat yogurt, mash potatoes, pudding, apple sauce, and chopped up top ramen for now. I'm trying to be patient with the process but the thought of him not being able to swallow is stressful. I'm trying really hard not to call it quits. One if my boys had braces and it was a pretty smooth process but the expander has taken it to a whole other level. I feel like a bad mom when I watch him trying to eat. I hope it gets better because the thought of him having to do this for months is awful.

My daughter also just got her expander. We are on day two. The first day the bread from her sandwich got caught causing her to choke a bit. Luckily she was ok and we are learning as we go. Soup with rice and small cooked carrots seem to work well. I purchased a thermos for her to take hot food, like soup or pasta shells, to school. I also purchased fruit pouches, applesauce, greek yogurt and go-gurts for her to easily eat. Sloppy joes without the bun, tacos without a shell and lettuce seem to work as well.

My son is 11 and got his expander a week and a half ago. He was such a picky eater before this. His issues come with the swallowing, he says he can't swallow properly and therefore only eats pudding and drinks breakfast essentials. I'm really worried as he's small framed to begin with and he's hungry all the time but he just can't seem to eat anything solid. He says it gets stuck in the expander and then it gets caught in his throat and he feels like he's choking. Anyone have suggestions? He won't eat fruit as the seeds/skin and such cause him issues. He's just so worried over food, but he's now getting sick of eating pudding! I don't know what to do :( Anyone else have this problem? We don't go back for another week, but if he can't eat, i don't see how we can continue this.

My son is 9. He has adhd and often gets angry and mean. I was told that this was a retainer he was getting. I assumed it wouldnt be that bad, if it became too much we could take it out. Yesterday he got an upper palate expander. He panicked and cried. Not only did I feel helpless but I knew I was about to take one miserable ride once this was in. I immediately told the woman doing my sons teeth if I would have known it was going to be this I would have thought this through more. I let him stay home yesterday instead of going back to school. He was so miserable and angry that he threw things all over my house, tried to take his spacer out, wouldnt eat, and a good amount of the day he cried or screamed. I've done everything I could and now I'm helpless.Thismorning he was starving and I was told soft foods. He wanted toast which I spent 20 minutes picking out the first bite from the roof of his mouth. I dont think bread is a good option. I bought and made him everything but he still cant swallow. I feel some of these moms on here. This is an awful experience. I was told this would be better within 2 days but am hearing on here differently. The worst part of this is I am supposed to attach a jaw device with rubber bands every night and tighten his spacer every other night. Since he is stubborn this is impossible for me to do. For being a great ortho I am very disappointed that none of this was explained before they did this work. This has nothing to do with coddling my son like I had read a dental asst post on another site that most mothers of coddled boys come in the next day asking to remove their sons device. This all stems down to this device in general and how to help my son adjust. If anyone has any advice at all, please share. I dont want him to have jaw surgery but he will not give this time to adjust.

I have an expander curretly and i could not really find what to eat but I think i'm good now because the list really helped me! THANKS!!!

My Son also got his expanders on the weekend. The reason is because the tongue cannot touch the roof of the mouth to create the suction. They will have to create the suction using the other end of it. After 3 days he is slowly finding ways to swallow and talk with the expanders.

I got my expander 2-3 days ago and I HATE IT! When my fam and I do turns to turn it it hurts when it gets turned back but then gets better though pretty sore. All I can really be eating is pickle juice and tomatoe soup ☹️. Does anyone have any other foods I can eat cause I can’t eat any of my favorites like skittles,P.B and J,caramel chocalate, and most foods in my fridge. It will get easier to eat more and more foods a day and, soon about a week later you will be eating mostly everything in the fridge and pantry (MOSTLY EVERYTHING!) But anyways I hope this helped everyone.

My daughter is 9 and she got her upper expander in her mouth 5 days ago and has mastered the talking okay as in school she needs to talk in french and English. It's the eating that is stressing her out. She only eats pureed soups and liquid stuff like smoothies and ice cream. She is afraid of food getting stuck between roof of her mouth and expander and she is scared of choking. She choked once before all this on a piece of chicken and on spaghetti and now with expander it's worse. She is getting tired of smoothies. This is to stay in til august and I am so worried about her. Any ideas would be appreciated.

We are in the same boat. Got the expander yesterday and last night my 8 year old was a crying dooly mess at dinner. Wouldnt eat breakfast today. He just cant seem to figure out how to suck the food out that gets between the expander and the roof of his mouth. Sending my husband to buy: pudding, yogert tubes, apple sauce, breakfast shakes but that is all I can think of that he will eat. Plus now Ill have to pack a school lunch as well. UGG!!!!

Hi guys. My almost 9 y.o. son got a palate expander 3 days ago. I think everyone would think to give bread, but it sticks to roof of mouth. After much thought and research, this is what's worked for him so far:

Breakfast - porridge, smoothie (with egg) (also going to try french toast, mashed baked beans, soggy flakes, scrambled eggs, healthier pancakes)

Lunch - cooked & cooled filled pasta like tortellini, flavoured tofu diced, hummus & tuna mixed between thin rice cakes til go soft, avocado, hummus, zucchini slice (will now try devilled eggs with pesto, soup like miso or sw potato & red lentil)

Dinner - any fish fillets steamed, veggie gnocchi, curly pasta w pesto or pureed veg sauce, asian pumpkin soup (will also try slow-cooked tender beef, chicken & ricotta cannelloni, mushy peas, steamed carrot, mash - potato, sweet potato, parsnip or pumpkin combos, pearl couscous

Snacks - fruits like berries, kiwi fruit, grapes, melons; muffins with almond (or walnut) meal; soft cheese triangle [Tiger brand here in Australia] (and yet to try healthy dips like white bean with sw potato chunky fries)

Dessert - I'll try cheesecake, beetroot choc brownies, sw pit or pumpkin pie, flavoured custard, pumpkin mousse, waffles, baked apple, stewed & pureed fruits.

Good luck everyone! I now feel lucky that my son hasn't choked or struggled to swallow! I think small bites, slowly well chewed helps. His lisp is improving and we keep trying new things (I feel like I've become a dietitian this weekend!!) despite his fussiness around food. Keeping my fingers crossed! 🙂

Excellent thread. So glad it hasn’t been archived! DD got her second palate expander yesterday along with top braces. She’s miserable. Thanks for the food recs!!!

AVOID mozzarella cheese sticks- especially if they’re breaded and fried. When my daughter was young and wearing an expander a fast food cheese stick was caught between her expander and throat. Fortunately the Heimlich maneuver worked! None of her friends or cousins ever ate cheese sticks again.

How did it go for you? any insight on foods you found that worked better? Our daughter is 9 and just got hers in yesterday. She is very texture sensitive to food and is having a really challenging time adjusting and figuring out how to eat

Hi, my 8-year old daughter got her expander 2 days ago. She couldn’t swallow her saliva the first day. Then I read that if you tilt your head back, it makes it a little easier. Day 2 she drank chicken soup (broth), milk shakes, fruit smoothies but it was a slow process. Tried chicken rice soup and pureed but she didn’t like the consistency. Day 3, regular pasta didn’t work and mac and cheese didn’t work because the pieces were still too big and in hindsight maybe too dry considering it was only day 3. Boiled fresh linguine pasta for 20 minutes and made a soupy alfredo sauce. Linguine simmered in the sauce for a few more minutes. Cut the linguini into tiny tiny tiny pieces with scissors. My daughter could eat it (as in was able to swallow it) and was so hungry she ate 2 bowls

My 9yr old grandaughter just got her expander this morning so I'm curious how others handle this as she stays with me on weekends.

Our 8yr old daughter just had her two week follow up after getting a palate expander. We're letting her set the pace, and deciding what's she's ready to try to eat, and she's back to almost normal (restricted foods notwithstanding). We've been chopping fruit and veg & meat tiny, avoiding long noodles, and she's had zero difficulty with swallowing. Peas getting stuck under the expander are a oddly specific problem we're having - no other food does this- though she manages just fine getting then our by rinsing. We have bought her a water pic as well, but so far she doesn't really need it. She's doing great, and the follow up was all of five minutes. Never been prouder.

One bit of advice I would give from our orthodontist was puffed kernel corn (brands like Pirate Booty or Chester's Puffcorn) are a great substitution for popcorn. Our local supermarket carries a store brand butter flavored one that we put in baggies for going to the movies now - perfect substitution for the popcorn sensory experience.

Wow this post is 9 years old old but still so helpful! My 14yo just got an expander this week and it's been making meals pretty difficult. She's vegetarian so some things are off the menu already. I've read everyone's comments and put them into a list for my own benefit. Here it is in case it can assist anyone else. Sorry, it's not in any order.

1. Mashed Potato w/cheese or gravy
2. Mac and Cheese
3. Pasta, filled pasta Ravioli/Tortellini (no long noodles)
4. Yogurt, Gogurt, Greek
5. Scrambled eggs
6. Deviled eggs
7. Ramen broken up before cooking
8. Tomato soup
9. Oatmeal
10. Apple Sauce
11. Rice
12. Tofu & Impossible ground meat
13. Hummus
14. Soft Cheese (Laughing Cow, etc)
15. Milk Shake
16. Protein Shake
17. Fruit Smoothie w/protein powder
18. Avacado
19. Finely chopped fresh fruit
20. Pirate’s Booty Cheese Puffs

I am 12 and I'm going to get expanders in a few weeks, and I thought that I only couldn't eat chewy foods but reading all these posts makes me a lot more nervous 😟😥