One of the beginning-of-the-year routines many mothers will be familiar with is figuring out when to book their kids in for a check-up at the dentist. And if your children’s adult teeth have grown in crooked or irregular, you will probably be wondering if this is the year the dentist takes you aside and tells you it might be time for orthodontics.
If you had braces yourself as a child, you may be dreading this moment. Braces are no fun for anyone, and in the middle school years especially kids can be extremely sensitive to anything that might make them stand out among their peers. And if you don’t have insurance, there’s also the expense to consider.
The good news is that orthodontic technology has developed by leaps and bounds over the past twenty years, and thanks to recent technical breakthroughs and a greater range of materials available, your orthodontist in Hamilton can make sure that your kids have a much easier time of it than you did.
Custom Brackets Offer Greater Comfort
One of the problems with older styles of braces is that they were produced on a one-size-fits-all basis. These braces had to be adapted to the particular needs of each patient, but they operated less smoothly and caused a great deal more friction — which in turn caused a lot more discomfort.
Modern braces can incorporate custom brackets made from metal or porcelain to fit your child’s unique mouth. This creates less friction, meaning that your child won’t have to suffer the same kinds of aches and pains patients in previous generations had to go through.
No Elastics Means Fewer Visits
If you had to wear braces as a child, you probably have visceral memories of the little elastics that were used to keep the wire in place while closing up space between teeth, or keeping space closed. These elastics needed to be changed regularly, and made cleaning the teeth even more difficult.
One of the advantages that modern braces have is that they are increasingly designed to work without elastics. Companies like Insignia have designed brackets that use a slide mechanism that allows the wire to move more freely while still firmly connecting the archwires to the brackets.
This system is not only more comfortable and discrete, it also means fewer trips to the dentist for elastics to be changed — which you and your child are both likely to appreciate!
More Subtle Options
For middle schoolers and young adults, one of the most frustrating aspects of having braces is simply the aesthetics. At a time in life when appearance seems to matter more than anything else, having large amounts of hardware in your mouth can be very embarrassing.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of clear options that make braces less noticeable, allowing your child to have their teeth straightened more discretely.
If the very memory of having braces as a kid makes you wince, you’ll be sympathetic with your own child’s reluctance to undergo the procedure. Fortunately, technological improvements mean that you have plenty of options that can make the experience more comfortable and less embarrassing for your children than it was for you.
All orthodontists have their own specialization and more experience working on a certain type of equipment. Someone specializes in the treatment of children, and someone-for adults, someone works with self-ligating braces, and someone – with lingual, etc. Consider this point when making your choice, learn more about Invisalign here, especially if you want to be treated on a certain type of devices.