Advice On Fixed Braces And Type 1 Diabetes

[lulu_clinch]

My Daughter Has Type 1 Diabetes , Diagnosed 2 Years Ago, She Is Now 14 Years Old. She Is Due To Have A Fixed Brace In March And Has Been Told She Should Avoid Anything Sticky, Crunchy Or Sweet. The Sweet Is Not A Problem But What Can She Have Instead Of Cereal Bars As These Are Really Useful After A Hypo At School.
Has Anyone Got Any Helpful Hints For Her?

 

[Copepod]

Some types of hardish biscuits might be suitable eg digestives, oatmeal crackers, Scottish oatcakes (smooth or rough texture). Your daughter might need a combination of sweet and savoury biscuits eg iced or cream or even chocolate digestive, followed by a savoury biscuit - most packets give carbohydrate and sugar content per biscuit to work out what approximates to the cereal bars she uses now.

To keep the biscuits fresh & crisp, you can buy small food boxes to hold a stack of about 4 round biscuits from supermarkets, pound shops etc. They seem to be used more by parents with toddlers, but most are plain coloured, so should be acceptable to a 14 year old girl.

I seem to remember from having a fixed brace myself as a teenager, but before diabetes, that Polo mints were easy to manage.

The other part of the solution is to brush teeth after eating, particularly sugary or acidic foods / drinks.

 

[Lizzie]

Hi Lulu

I had a brace myself and was not given this advice. I think your daughter needs to be very careful she keeps her teeth clean. I would advise regular hygenist visits in addition to dental appointments, and make sure she uses mouthwash and flosses as well as cleaning thoroughly twice a day. For hypos maybe she could have lucozade. I got a very useful cup from the hospital which has marks to show how many carbs are in a certain amount of lucozade.

 

[Nic]

Just something that my dentist once told me - never brush your teeth straight after having something like lucozade or coke - you are just brushing the enamel on your teeth away! I find orange juice is better, I drink it through a straw and try not to swill it around my mouth!