If you are considering orthodontic treatment, one of the aspects of treatment you may have the most questions about is how treatment will impact your daily life.
While your braces will certainly impact your daily life, you'll likely find that you don't have to make as many changes as you were expecting. Once you're used to your braces, you'll really spend only a small fraction of your time thinking about them.
You can expect changes to occur during your braces treatment in the following areas of your life:
Your Dental Hygiene Routine
Wearing braces or Invisalign will make your oral hygiene routine somewhat more time consuming.
With braces, you’ll have to spend extra time every day brushing and flossing your teeth, to thoroughly clean out all the little crevices in your braces.
With Invisalign aligners, you’ll brush and floss like normal but you will need to take additional time to clean your aligners after each meal and snack, so that your aligners are clean before you put them back in your mouth.
Your Social Life
Social activities like talking, laughing, eating and kissing will take some getting used to with braces. It will feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable at first, but you will quickly get used to it. Things will be back to normal in no time!
You may occasionally encounter rude or immature people who tease them about your braces. This is both silly and unkind, and may be hard not to let it bother you. While it's normal to feel hurt when you're teased, just remember that you’re undergoing a medical treatment, and that's nothing to be embarrassed about. In the end, your oral health and your smile will be greatly improved, so always keep that in mind!
It may also take you a while to get used to how different your smile looks with braces. To help things along, practice smiling in front of the mirror, or try taking a few selfies from different angles, to get used to your new look.
Eating & Drinking
Your eating and drinking habits will also change when you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment. This includes a teeth cleaning session after each meal.
Food debris can get lodged in braces quite easily, and if you're not careful, you may wind up going through your day with a bit of spinach dangling from your braces. For this reason, it's important to brush and floss often, and you may want to start keeping a small pocket mirror on hand.
You’ll also need to make some changes to your diet, since certain types of food may damage your braces. Foods that are hard and crunchy foods, that you have to bite into, or that are sticky and gooey, are all off limits!
Once you get used to daily life with braces, you'll get comfortable in your new routine, and your braces won't be on your mind much!