Did you know choosing your path to a better smile is not as simple as aesthetics? It’s also about your daily routine and habits. Modern braces are more comfortable, discreet, and efficient than ever, but they’re not all exactly the same—and for good reason! No two smiles are alike, so having various types of braces for patients is essential, but how do you choose the right braces for your lifestyle?
First Things First: The Treatment Options
Before we evaluate how your lifestyle and treatment method can affect the quality of your orthodontic experience, let’s quickly summarize the different types of treatment. Knowing the basics can help you visualize how they will fit into your life, making the decision-making process much easier!
- Metal Braces: This is the most popular and most well-known treatment option. The durable metal brackets, wires, and colorful ligatures are on plenty of iconic fictional characters and many children, teens, and adults in real life. They can help patients with a wide range of issues, including complex cases.
- Clear Braces: Clear braces are almost identical to metal braces, except for the materials that their brackets are made of. These brackets are made of a tooth-colored ceramic material that blends in with your smile. They’re a much less noticeable option than metal braces, making them great for people who don’t like the look of metal braces but don’t qualify for clear aligners.
- Invisalign: This option is beloved by many orthodontic patients because it does not involve brackets and wires. Instead, Invisalign consists of a series of removable trays that are almost invisible when worn.
If you’re thinking, “All of these sound like great options to improve my smile, how will I ever choose?” Don’t worry. We’re getting into that now. When weighing the options, we encourage you to ask yourself the following questions.
Do You Live to Eat or Eat to Live?
If you’ve ever been around anyone with braces, you’ve likely heard or seen them turn down food that’s offered to them or complain about food cravings. That’s because when you have braces, you have to make some temporary adjustments to your grocery list and diet.
Braces, especially metal braces, are strong and can withstand a lot. However, like Superman, they do have a weakness, unfortunately. For Superman, it’s kryptonite; for braces, it’s certain foods. Until treatment ends, you’ll have to…
- Avoid anything hard, crunchy, chewy, and/or sticky
- Avoid anything that contains anything hard, crunchy, chewy, and/or sticky (like muffins with nuts)
- Cut all food into bite-sized pieces
- Eat boneless meat and off-the-cob corn
- Check out our “Foods To Avoid With Braces” video on YouTube for more information.
Why? Well, these types of foods can easily weaken or break your braces. Damaged braces can be inconvenient, annoying, and even painful. If you’re a “foodie,” or you feel like you will have difficulty giving up your favorite food for a few months, then Invisalign aligners—which don’t have food restrictions due to their removability—are likely a better fit for your lifestyle.
Which New Oral Hygiene Routine Are You More Likely to Adapt?
Another reason your diet is so important when you have braces is because braces, with all their parts, have a lot of places where food can get stuck. To protect your teeth and gums, you have to modify your oral hygiene routine to prevent bacteria and plaque from accumulating in your mouth. If you don’t, you’ll suffer oral health consequences, like bad breath and cavities. Fortunately, the new routine isn’t complicated or time-consuming. It’s just a little more thorough and frequent than what you might be used to. (To learn more about oral hygiene with braces, check out this past blog and video.)
Other than cleaning your aligners as often as instructed by Dr. Razi, Invisalign aligners offer orthodontic treatment with almost no changes to your oral hygiene routine. If you feel unsure that you will be able to commit to the regimen required by braces, consider aligners instead.
Will You Actually Wear the Aligners? (Are You Being Truthful?)
Invisalign aligners are great. They’re custom-made to fit your unique smile, subtle, and allow flexibility with food and oral hygiene. But with all these fantastic benefits comes a catch: you have to actually wear them. It sounds easy, but you’d be surprised how often people don’t wear them. It’s easy to forget to put them back in after lunch, or how many times saying, “I’ll wear them tomorrow,” becomes an everyday thing.
If “I’ll do it tomorrow” is something you frequently say, or if you’re prone to procrastinating or struggle to build new habits, metal or clear braces are likely better for you. After all, you don’t want to delay the arrival of your new smile or have a less-than-pleasant orthodontic experience because you keep forgetting or neglecting to wear your aligners.
Are You Prone to Losing Things? (Be Honest.)
Aligners that have made their way into restaurant trash cans, got chewed up by pets, or have melted in the car on a hot summer day will not help you improve your alignment. We strongly recommend those who are constantly misplacing items to get braces. Needing replacement aligners over and over again can not only prolong your orthodontic experience but can also make it more frustrating and costly as well. So, be truthful with yourself when you envision life with aligners. If you have even the tiniest suspicion that you’ll lose or not wear them, get metal or clear braces for a smoother, stress-free smile transformation.
Your Dream Smile Could Be Yours. Schedule a Free Consultation Today!
Choosing your treatment option is a personal choice, but it’s a lot easier with the help of a smile professional. Dr. Razi of Razi Orthodontics is dedicated to making you smile, whether with a joke at your appointment or by giving you a smile you will love showing off for years to come. Visit us in Naperville or Wheaton for a no-pressure, free consultation for a more in-depth look at the options and what they can do for your smile. We hope to see you soon!