Braces For Adults: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
When it comes to your oral health, maybe the most important thing for you to understand is that braces are NOT just for teens. In fact, they're probably better suited for adults because unlike teens, adult jaws are already fully developed.
Likewise, it's always essential to be happy with your own smile - which means that it's never too late for a trip to the orthodontist!
Why Should Adults Get Braces?
If the adult in question has some type of bite and/or other orthopedic problem, they should absolutely get braces to avoid other health issues down the road. These can include but are absolutely not limited to things like periodontal disease, gum disease, plaque build-up and more.
Likewise, your teeth can shift at absolutely any age. Even if you had a perfectly straight smile while you were growing up and did not have ANY bite problems to speak of, they can still easily develop while you're an adult.
Visually speaking, braces will also help you grow your confidence significantly. If you want to get braces without anyone really realizing that you've done it, you can also opt for ceramic braces instead.
The Types of Braces That Are Available
There are four main types of braces for you to choose from. They include:
Traditional braces, which are likely the style you're already most familiar with. They include a series of brackets that are connected together via a metal wire.
Empower braces, which are very much like traditional braces except they use much smaller brackets.
Ceramic braces, which are very discreet because they're designed specifically to be teeth colored.
All of these different types of braces have their own unique advantages and disadvantages but don't worry. Your dental care professional will discuss everything with you ahead of time to help you make the right choice.
Caring For Your Braces
Caring for your braces isn't especially difficult - but it will require you to pay close attention to certain things during your daily life.
In terms of oral hygiene, you'll not only want to floss and brush between your teeth but between the brackets as well. Do this several times a day, including after eating.
You'll also need to get familiar with the list of foods you should really stay away from during the duration of your treatment. These include hard foods, crunchy foods, sticky foods and anything that requires you to bite into it. Something like an apple would definitely not be recommended, unfortunately.
Finally, you'll also need to make regular orthodontic appointments to make sure that everything is going along exactly as it should be. Sometimes your orthodontist will need to change out the wire or make other types of adjustments to make sure that everything proceeds on schedule. This is normal and is perfectly okay - all of this effort will be worth it when you finally have that perfect smile you've always wanted for yourself after your treatment has completed.