Don't Let These 3 Misconceptions Stop You From Getting Braces

Dealing with crooked teeth isn't exactly the most pleasant experience in the world. Beyond causing you to feel self-conscious, crooked teeth can also end up crowding out your other teeth and causing functionality issues. Instead of creating a war in your mouth, you can turn to braces. Just because you might have heard a few things about braces already, that doesn't mean they are necessarily true. Check out some of the common misconceptions about braces below.

You can't get braces until all of your adult teeth are in.

Many people think that they have to wait to get their children braces until they have lost all of their baby teeth, but that isn't the case. Children between the ages of 8 and 14 are ideal candidates for braces. At this point, they have lost a significant amount of their baby teeth and a lot of their adult teeth are in place for anchor points. It is often recommended that you go in and have your child evaluated by an orthodontist around seven years of age. If your child is young enough, he or she may actually avoid braces altogether with early interceptive orthodontics. Interceptive orthodontics simply means that the dentist will treat malocclusions as soon as they are detected in your child's mouth.

You can't go back and get braces again after you had them once.

Many individuals got braces when they were younger before their wisdom teeth ever came in. They often feel that their teeth shifted because of those extra teeth, but that isn't the case. Rarely do your wisdom teeth ever break through the surface. They are generally stuck underneath the gums and need to be surgically removed. Oftentimes, shifting is the result of not wearing your retainer. You have to wear your retainer for the rest of your life, otherwise, your teeth are going to shift. You generally only wear the retainer at night. If your teeth did shift from not doing what you were supposed to, you can always go back in for re-treatment.

You have to wear braces for years and years.

Many people assume you have to wear braces for years, but that isn't the case. With all of the new and improved technology today, you can often get all the treatment in just one or two years. All of this will be discussed with you at your first appointment with an orthodontist, like John C. Matunas D.D.S., PA. If you want to speed up the process, opting for metal braces is the best since they are the strongest compared to inward and ceramic braces. However, only your orthodontist can tell you what you are looking at in terms of treatment.

Don't let one of the misconceptions above stop you from getting the straight smile you desire.

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