Orthodontics Today - all about braces and orthodontic devices

One or two years in braces. You change your life for ever, you are either that “metal mouth” person, or the guy/gal with the metal near the tongue or a “plastic mouth” as I am (since I wear Invisalign). You learn how to take care of your teeth, you meet with your orthodontist almost each month or after 6 weeks, you are sick of arc-wires, brackets, aligners, mouth wash, have changed already many tooth brushes, you are the “freak” who’s spending way too much in front of the dental care section in any super or hyper-market. Your friends are already convinced something is amiss up there while others are shocked to see you have “ruined” your mouth like this.

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!