HEALTH & BEAUTY
From Issue #11
STRAIGHT TALK
Crooked Teeth or Unkissable Brace-Face?
by Frances Devine
It’s hard to decide which is worse—crooked teeth or being
rejected as an unkissable metal-mouthed brace-face.
Fortunately, for the growing number of people looking to
orthodontic treatment to straighten and realign
teeth, the options are expanding beyond the stainless
steel brackets of classic train tracks.
If you’re thinking about braces, you may want to consider
a few of these options.
Ceramic brackets are stuck to your teeth and threaded
with wire in the same way as traditional braces,
however, their translucence means they blend better
into your mouth. You can see the wire, but the glint of
metal on your teeth is kept to a minimum.
Gold plating on conventional brackets is another
option. This surprisingly versatile look allows you to go
both ghetto fabulous and sorority girl gorgeous. The
warm colour suits some complexions better than silver.
Lingual brackets are just like regular braces, but are
placed on the inside of the teeth, where they cannot be
seen. These braces do have an unhappy tendency to
rub against your tongue, and are harder for dentists to
work with, however, they are completely invisible from
the front.
Of course, traditional stainless steel braces can
always be transformed by coloured bands, which are
used to hold the arch wire. These can be changed as
often as you visit your orthodontist and lets you play
decorator with your face—from team colours to camouflaging
your favourite food.
But keep in mind; no amount of special equipment
or picture perfection replaces the beauty of a self-confident
grin.
Sweet Smiles…
with some help
Drew Barrymore
Bow Wow
Chelsea Clinton
Tom Cruise
Claire Danes
Cameron Diaz
Prince Harry
Milla Jovovich
Ashley Judd
Chris Kirkpatrick
Britney Spears
Gwen Stefani
Liv Tyler
Venus Williams
and thousands more!
For more information visit: Canadian Association of Orthodontists www.cao-aco.org
