Teens. To say the least, they’re definitely something. So you took your teen into an orthodontic consultation for their teeth and were informed they should probably look into getting braces.
Before you even looked at them, you could feel the eye roll building up.
“Not going to happen. I don’t want them.”
The dreaded response, now you might be wondering how you can convince them with as little resistance as possible. But how can you do it? Well let us walk you through some of our tips on how to convince your teen how to get braces.
1. Talk with them first
The first thing you should do is find out why they’re apprehensive about getting braces. Many teenagers worry about their appearance, the length of treatment and what their friends will think. Finding out what exactly what is making them so uncomfortable is the first step in helping alleviate their worries.
If your teen is worried about..
What their friends will think
Remind them that many other kids their age have braces. Reference their friends, teachers or even celebrities they look up too to help them understand braces is a common thing and more than likely their friends will adjust to their new appearance quickly.
How long they will have to wear braces for
On average braces will be on your teen for around 24 months, now that may sound like a long time but the time literally flies by (and no we’re not just saying that). Many of our patients say the time in braces felt a lot shorter than it was.
They don’t want to be a metal mouth
Oh, long are the days of ugly braces! Kindly inform your teen there are plenty of options when it comes to choosing the appearance of their braces. Of course, the original metal bracket look will still be there but there are also many other options for them to choose from. Advances in orthodontics have created a variety of different appeared braces.
Some alternatives include:
- Clear Braces or Ceramic braces
- Lingual Braces
- Clear aligners or Invisalign
2. It’s either now or later, there’s no escaping
When it comes to orthodontic issues like — crossbite, underbite, overbite, crowded teeth or crooked teeth — they’re not going to just disappear overnight.
It’s important to make sure your teen knows that just because they don’t like some aspect of getting braces doesn’t mean that their problem ends there. Having a straight, healthy smile will prevent further damage and fix current problems.
An orthodontist can help fix:
- Overbites
- Underbites
- Crossbites
- Open bites
- Crooked teeth
- Crowded teeth
- Spaces in the teeth
Sometimes issues with your teeth can lead to other non-medical issues, when you fix your teeth it also can alleviate some of the following:
- Headaches
- Earaches
- Jaw pain
- Stomach issues (misaligned teeth don’t chew food properly)
The sooner you teen gets in their braces, the sooner they’ll be out.
3. Healthy teeth require less dental visits
When we say “less dental visits,'' we don’t mean your teen gets a pass to missing routine checkups. While in orthodontic treatment, the orthodontist will check your teen’s teeth to make sure there is no food building up, also while in the chair the orthodontist will evaluate how your teen is cleaning and make recommendations to help keep their teeth in the best possible care.
Having this discussion with your teen about straightening their teeth with braces is important. Making sure their on board is one of the best way to have a easy treatment.