I’ve been that “nerdy” kid who’d love reading A LOT. Whenever I started something new, I always felt the need to know everything possible about that topic. After starting Karate, I read everything that fell into my lap about this, when having any health issues, I’d also read about this not only rely on my doctors. Of course, this never made me smarter than my physician, but it surely helped a lot, when having to deal with a diagnostic and treatments.

As you can imagine, when my orthodontics treatment started, I was very busy reading about various devices and treatments, how it should feel, how it all works etc. I’ve joined some top orthodontics forums, read tens of articles about my future treatment. My orthodontist usually jokes that, if I wanted to get a diploma, it shouldn’t be too hard and that I kinda know more than many students that study this in college.

Why is it important to know about Orthodontics?

1. What you know, cannot kill you.

Well, I’m kidding, but still, knowing about this treatment, how to find a good orthodontist etc. are important aspects to having a successful treatment. There are many AMAZING doctors out there, but lousy ones too. Such a treatment is VERY costly for a patient, not too much from a doctor’s perspective. A good chuck of the price covers their “handiwork” and of course specialization, so the investment is not that big, while the profit is pretty nice. This leads many people to become orthodontists, even if some are not that well prepared for this.

By knowing how to see a fake from a real one, what to expect in your treatment, you won’t be scared or easy to fool. More power to the informed consumer.

2. Knowing your steps, makes the treatment easier

I knew IN DETAIL what my doctor is gonna do to me, what’s that paste he’s placing over my teeth, how my brackets will be attached etc. I was VERY RELAXED and fascinated in the end about everything happening to me. My orthodontist would add more information to what I already had read, since he knew I love knowing about this. The entire process has been a very nice one, with small discomfort, but nothing serious. I’ve had a super-positive attitude all along and it’s helped me tremendously. I can say my man is more “disturbed” for me wearing all kinds of devices, than I was.

Even now, as I am still under treatment, I have my initial pictures on the PC, I know where I’ve started, what worked and what’s slower to get results. Though I am not an orthodontist, I’ve surely done my homework.

3. It’s YOUR BODY, you gotta know about this stuff.

I cannot understand people who get sick and know nothing about their disease. I’ve had friends with various illnesses (fortunately nothing serious) and I knew more about their problems than they did. How can someone live in such a state of total ignorance? Not knowing about your illness DOESN’T MAKE IT GO AWAY. It never does. But having some ideas about it, surely helps.

As an example, one year and a half I discovered some breast lumps. Before even getting to the doctor to see what’s there, I already knew how my scans should look for it to be breast cancer or not, what my treatment options were in any of the stages, even how my biopsy fluid should look if it was just a hormonal imbalance. Well, fortunately for me it’s just something hormone based, but I had my homework done like a pro. When I’d have my biopsy done, the moment my doctor started filling the syringe with the fluid, I KNEW it wasn’t cancer. The biopsy came clean the following day.

Knowing all my options and everything a non-doctor can about this, has surely helped me a lot. Even if I’ve done my share of crying, having a mastectomy at 30 is not really something to be happy about, I wasn’t that shocked as others would have been in a similar situation.

Going into the orthodontics treatment, I loved reading all I could about this. It’s my teeth we’re talking here, I wanted to know what good can come off it, if it’s worth it, how other people handle this problem etc. All this information helped me through the treatment and establishing an amazing relationship with my orthodontist too. He always talks to me as if I was a fellow doctor and this helped me gain even more information.

Does this sound familiar? I am sure it does for any patient who’s into orthodontic treatment. For 1 year already I am the “freak” and to be honest I don’t care since I know what I am doing and love the changes I see in my teeth alignment.

After we go through all these the only thing that makes it bearable is the thought we’d once smile like the most successful star in Hollywood, we’ll no longer have bite problems, we’ll have perfect teeth. And still there are people who don’t have that wonderful result. They are few indeed, but still this happens. Let’s see how we can be successful. How can we make the treatment WORK!

1. CHOOSE THE BEST ORTHODONTIST YOU CAN

Don’t be cheap, don’t go for less money. Less money might mean crooked teeth forever, even after the treatment. Do your best to find out about the best orthodontist in your area and go there. Don’t let money decide your treatment. An excellent orthodontist doesn’t work for pennies and at the same time you can’t afford letting a beginner test his skills on you. My doctor has over 1000 cases in treatment or finished. He’s the best I could get in my city and I got him. He’s got the experience needed to really make it worth it.

2. DON’T MESS AROUND.

If you have to wear elastics or headgear or aligners or anything. Don’t take it easy. Don’t “fool” the treatment, don’t do anything but obey your doctor. If he/she is certain you need to wear that thing, then he/she might know better. In the end these guys treat you and have some more schooling into orthodontics than us. Don’t sabotage your treatment.

3. GO TO ANY APPOINTMENTS AND LET THEM KNOW IF SOMETHING BREAKS.

Yeah, brackets can fall, arch-wires poke your cheeks, aligners might get lost (do take care though) retainers might break too. Don’t just sit there telling yourself it doesn’t matter. ANYTHING matters. From such a “small” incident you’ll just make your treatment longer or even put it on hold. These guys are there to help you. Don’t go nuts if such incident happens (let’s not get mental), but do solve the issues as soon as possible. Or discuss with your doctor to have the best solution available. Don’t miss appointments and try to do your part of the job the best you can.

4. YOUR TEETH ARE SENSITIVE. DON’T MAKE IT EVEN HARDER FOR THEM.

You have to understand that your teeth are under a lot of “stress”. It’s not easy being a tooth, having those metal things on you, being pushed and pulled around. Your denture needs care and protection. Even if you can eat hard foods, don’t do it. I love nuts too, but this doesn’t mean I’d eat them with the braces on, or now when I have Invisalign. Even if my teeth don’t hurt me now and they seem to be pretty strong, I do realize they are moving to their decided position and can’t chew hard things. I don’t eat soft food only, but I don’t push my teeth too much. In the end I’d love having them still after the treatment is ending.

5. BRUSH, BRUSH AND THEN BRUSH SOME MORE.

People think we are weirdos carrying tooth paste and brushes all day long with us and brushing a lot. Since I started the treatment, I also started caring more for my oral hygiene. I wore braces and they’d catch anything possible. It was normal to brush and floss. I don’t like having all kinds of “stuff” on my teeth. Now I wear Invisalign and brush after each meal. I don’t eat anything with the aligners on, I take them out, eat and then brush again. Yes, 5-6 times a day. So that I don’t have tarter on my teeth and not develop cavities. This would be bad since it would might put your treatment on hold for few days till you have the cavities filled. Not to mention your teeth are again VULNERABLE and it would get complicated. Why make it harder?

6. READ ABOUT THIS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND ASK AROUND.

I can’t understand how some people can be so careless. I read hundreds of articles before getting braces, most people confuse me with the doctor since I can give them so many answers. It’s something that changed my life, it’s something I have to adjust to, so many things are happening to me. How not know about them? I asked my orthodontist all kinds of questions and he was more than happy to clue me in.

7. IMAGINE YOUR SMILE AFTERWARDS.

The easiest way for me to go through 2-3 years of treatment (as I have been predicted) was to see my smile after the treatment. I watch TV commercials with those perfect smiles and tell my folks “this is how my teeth will look like”. I never see myself as I am now, still with crooked teeth (better than before, but still not perfect), I see myself as I WILL BE. This gave me strength to go through the metal braces months and now I am prepared for 13/18 months in Invisalign. And I’ll make it, because I decided I need to succeed.

8. WEAR THAT RETAINER

Many people who had their teeth get crooked again didn’t wear the retainer properly. It’s unpleasant to have to care for this too after so many months being braced. But this retainer is the secret to KEEP your smile. Some wear it for few months, some for some years or even a lifetime.

Well, I am ready. I want to wear it the time I have to and even some weeks more. So that I know my pain wasn’t in vain. So that I know I made it. After months of treatment, after tens of meetings with my orthodontist, after having arch-wires in my mouth, power chains, brackets, mini-molds, trays, retainer, way too many cleanings, pain sometimes, a lot of brushing, lots of money paid and gasoline for my car on my way to the doctor and back. After all these I will have a perfect smile. And I will keep it.

My treatment will succeed because I KNOW how to make it succeed. I have a good doctor and the determination to make all this work!

The “nerd” or “geek” who has eyeglasses and those braces that make talking and smiling so difficult. What most movies fail to show us is how that “geek” will look in just months after the treatment is over. Metal braces and any kind of orthodontic devices in the end do look funny and might be uncomfortable, but the results are always stunning. In 1-2 years (maybe a little more for some very complex orthodontic cases) that metal mouth will sport an amazing smile, just great to use to advertise a new brand of toot-paste or any other product that requires a lot of smiling.

Even if most orthodontic patients fear braces, we do advise you to use them and do the treatment. After some months you won’t recognize your teeth, you’ll have a perfect smile and a new face to show.

We used that “time machine” analogy since today things are different in orthodontics. Now we have more than just metal braces. We can use ceramics, lingual braces, even invisible plastic ones that really don’t show. Did you think that you don’t have what to chose from? Think again.

And now, to the goal of our article: HOW DO I CHOSE THE ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT?

• the severity of your orthodontic case. If your teeth are too crooked you might not qualify for the Invisible braces (Invisalign). In this case your orthodontist can advise you to use another system: Damon or Lingual (Incognito)
• the need for extractions (or not). Some braces types (Damon comes to mind) might not require extractions, others might do
• what your orthodontist can provide. Not can provide you with Incognito, Invisalign or Damon. Most of them have just “regular” metal braces (with ligatures), while others are licensed to use all systems.
• price. Some orthodotic treatments are more expensive while others cost less. Not to mention some are not covered by your health insurance.
• the need to wear other devices: headgear for example.
• treatment time: some systems work faster, some slower
• diction: in some cases the lisp the patient faces (at least in the first days) is more noticeable. For a radio DJ for instance or a public speaker, this can become a problem
• looks. Some might not love the “metal mouth” look (for a 30-40 year old this might be harder), while others don’t care about aspect too much and can settle for anything.
• allergies. Some people might develop allergic reactions to Nickel.

So, here you have some things to consider when chosing an orthodontic treatment. It’s not that simple anymore and thank God we have some excellent systems to chose from. There are good solutions or even combinations so that we can straighten our teeth the way we want.