Love That Smile Braces Are Any Annoying Fact Of Life For Many Teens

Brace Face! Metal Mouth! Tinsel Teeth!

If you’ve ever worn braces, you’ve heard these names hurled at you. Although the taunting only lasts a week or two, the braces stay on from one to two years.

Adjusting to the braces can also take time. It is not a natural feeling to have metal covering your teeth.

“When I got them on it was weird,” said Missy Carstens, a Gonzaga Prep junior. “I had to smile bigger in order to get my lips around the braces.”

Braces can be rather uncomfortable for the first couple days. The metal cuts into your lips, making a smile very painful. Some teens even refuse to leave the safety of their bedroom out of fear of being ridiculed. Eating fast food is an adventure with braces. Imagine seeing a cute guy or girl at McDonald’s, smiling, and then realizing you have a huge chunk of fry caught in your front teeth. Not a great first impression. Listen to the orthodontist when he tells you to brush after EVERY meal.

Getting braces off also brings a drastic change to a teen’s life (and smile).

“When I got them off I didn’t want to smile because my mouth felt really big,” said Prep senior Brett Herman. “There was a lot of extra room in there.”

Carstens had a different experience when she got her braces off.

“My teeth felt really slimy, but it still felt good,” she said. “As soon as I got them off I couldn’t help but keep smiling.”

Sometimes a patient has to wear braces for longer than the average two-year period. Gonzaga Prep senior Taylor Greene has being wearing her braces for more than three years.

“Sometimes I wonder if the doctors have worn them and if they know the pain you go through when they tighten them,” she said. “I’m hoping my teeth will look as good as they say they will. I don’t know why it’s taken so long.”

In this age of “technological advances” braces, too, are changing. The wires that string between the brackets now come in a wide range of colors. Today’s teens can also add rhinestones to their braces for special occasions. These are often found in magazine advertisements like Teen and Seventeen, and may be available through mail order.

Another new amenity is choosing clear braces rather than the traditional silver metal. The clear braces add an estimated $250 to the average $4,000 you’ll pay for basic braces.

“(Clear braces) are nice because they’re not as noticeable,” said Post Falls senior Amber Sewell, who’s worn clear braces for about a year. “The only bad thing is that when you eat certain foods they stain really easily.”

Orthodontists tell new patients several types of food are considered off-limits while wearing braces. The list usually includes popcorn - especially caramel corn - gum, hard or chewy candy, and even hard-to-bite veggies. The consequences of eating these foods are significant. Brackets (the part of the braces cemented to your teeth) can break off or the food can get caught in the braces. Ouch!

Some foods decay around the bracket, while others discolor the teeth, leaving permanent stains that do not respond to even the newest bleaching techniques. Gross!

Even worse, eating these foods can prolong the treatment time, which is the last thing a teen would want.

The main goal of braces is to align the teeth, therefore making you more attractive, not to make your life miserable for two years. They may not be fun to wear, but the final result is usually worth it.

Although peers may tease you because of the braces at first, they will definitely notice the final result. Instead of hearing “tinsel teeth,” while walking through the halls, it will probably sound more like “WOW,” “Beautiful,” or “Great Smile.”

And that makes it all worthwhile.