“Making a Fashion Statement with your Smile”

The 'mouth full of shining metal', commonly called 'metal mouth' or 'tin grin', is truly a thing of the past with today's updated braces. Braces have become a fashion statement, and you can choose which type of braces will fit your personal taste and style. For patients who choose to make fashion statements with their mouths, colors are a way to show your personality. Stainless steel braces are the most common and the most popular type of braces for children and adults, but plain old stainless steel braces don't have to look plain. Today's space age materials make braces more comfortable than ever and more easily decorated. The rubber bands that you put in and take out daily come in dozens of colors. Even the ligatures that hold your wires to the brackets come in a splashy array of colors. Although they're not interchangeable like the elastics, colored brackets can add real spark to a smile, and your orthodontist can change the colors each time your wires are changed. You can choose colors that coordinate with your wardrobe. You can wear your school colors on your braces. You can proclaim your loyalty to a sports team. You can choose to decorate your teeth for a holiday, like orange and black for Halloween or green for St. Patrick's Day. You can even choose a different color for each bracket and make a rainbow in your smile! There are clear composite braces that glow in the dark. And if you want to make the ultimate fashion statement, then maybe the classic beauty and elegance of gold is for you. Gold braces and wires are similar to stainless steel braces and wires with the exception of being gold-plated for a 24-carat smile. For patients whose style is quieter and more subdued, there are braces that bond to the back of your teeth and can't be seen at all. There are clear retainers that are barely noticeable. And there are ceramic braces, made from a ceramic material developed by the NASA space program, that are virtually invisible on your teeth. Ceramic braces are also very strong and dependable, which will help you achieve your treatment goal faster and more efficiently. Once the braces are off, retainers are another way to express your personality. They don't have to be roof-of-the-mouth pink nowadays. Your retainer can glow in the dark, be polka-dotted, be personalized with a photo of your best friend, your dog or the logo of your favorite sports team. Your choice is limited only by your imagination. Braces in one form or another have been in use for 100 years and continue to be the primary mechanism used to move teeth, but today's braces bear little resemblance to the "train tracks" that baby boomers may remember from their youth -- they're updated in style and make a colorful fashion statement that's good for your teeth.

written by Dr. Andrew Tringas
Windermere Orthodontist