The teenage years present many new challenges for young people. Caring for a developing smile is yet another concern for teens and young adults. Luckily, our office makes orthodontic treatment simple and easy for you and your family. If you’re wondering if your teen may need braces, how it will impact their life, and important information about their braces experience, you’ve come to the right place.
Your teenager may be considering braces and other orthodontic treatment if they have the following:
- Crooked teeth
- Crowding or overlapping teeth
- Underbite
- Overbite
However, the best way to know if your child needs braces for teens is to get a professional diagnosis.
At Simply Southern Smiles Orthodontics, we tailor braces to provide our teenage patients with healthier and aesthetically pleasing smiles. We’ve become one of the top orthodontic practices for patients in Statesville, NC looking for quality orthodontic care for their teens.
What Should I Expect When My Teen Begins Orthodontic Treatment?
At the start of your teen’s orthodontic treatment, we’ll initiate a thorough review of their medical and orthodontic history to get a complete picture of your teen’s oral health. We’ll also rely on the results of this assessment to put together a treatment plan.
Typically, the treatment will incorporate the creation and placement of their braces. After installation, the rest of the process will entail taking care of the braces and checking in periodically to keep track of the treatment process.
How Long Will I Wear Teen Braces?
You should typically expect to wear braces for two years to get the best results.
However, we are firm believers in custom orthodontic treatment at Simply Southern Smiles Orthodontics. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for some teen patients to wear braces for 12-18 months. We’ve also seen patients requiring up to three years of treatment time to generate the perfect result. We’ll provide exact timelines after the initial consultations.
How to Protect Your Braces
Here are some important tips to keep in mind to protect your braces:
- Practice oral hygiene. Brush your teeth after every meal and snack to ensure the wires and brackets don’t trap food.
- Avoid eating crunchy, hard, or chewy foods. Braces aren’t as hard as your teeth, so these foods may damage them.
- Wear matching mouth guards during physical activity. Braces won’t keep you from taking part in physical activities. However, a mouth guard will keep the brackets and wires from coming loose following impact.
Treatment Options in Statesville, NC
The following are treatment options for teens in need of braces:
- Traditional metal braces: These are the most common for kids and teens, consisting of metal brackets. Today, they are more effective and less noticeable.
- Clear (ceramic) braces: They are as effective as metal braces, but they are more discreet due to the clear tooth color of the material. They are a popular choice amongst teens worried about their appearance.
- Self-ligating braces: Dr. Woods’ office offers Pitts21® self-ligating braces. These braces automatically pull together without the need for as frequent intervention from Dr. Woods. This is a truly low-maintenance orthodontic option!
At Simply Southern Smiles Orthodontics, we go over all of your options and guide you towards the best treatment plan.
Smile Arc Protection
At Simply Southern Smiles Orthodontics, Dr. Woods uses braces to give you a perfect smile using the Smile Arc Protection system. This system ensures that your final smile will be aesthetically pleasing to show your teeth and the “natural arc” of the smile. Without this system, the smile can end up being flat. We evaluate your smile during consultations and make sure the final result will give you an aesthetic smile if you don’t have one already.
Advantages of Braces
On the surface, it may seem like braces work solely for the cosmetic purpose of correcting crooked smiles and improving the look of your teeth (which is a big deal for teens!) However, there’s more. Let’s look over some of the other advantages of braces for teens:
- Speech impairment alleviation: Teeth play a vital role in how you pronounce words. Disproportionate or misaligned can lead to slurring and other signs of speech impairment.
- Improved digestion: Misaligned teeth lead to swallowing improperly chewed food, thus extending the digestion process longer than necessary. Correcting misaligned teeth with braces will, therefore, significantly speed up digestion.
- Improved oral health: It’s easier to clean straighter teeth. Using braces can eliminate the crevices that encourage the growth of plaque.
How Do I Know If Braces are Right for My Child?
Braces are right for your child if they have visibly crowded and crooked teeth or trouble cleaning their teeth effectively. However, they’ll need a professional diagnosis for a definitive verdict.