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Why Aren’t Braces Better?
By Erica Westly | December 8, 2009
It’s the holidays, which means lots of family photos. And there’s nothing like posing for picture after picture to make you aware of the flaws in your smile. I had a perfect smile once–about twenty years ago when I first got my braces off. But to look at me now, you would never be able to tell I had braces. In order to get straight teeth once more, I’d have to get braces again, as an adult–not exactly something I’ve been looking forward to, having already suffered through three years of braces (complete with rubber bands and a few painful overnight head gear sessions).
I don’t recall anyone telling me that the effects of braces would eventually wear off when I was an adolescent. My impression from the orthodontist my mom took me to was that, providing I wore my retainer for a year after the braces came off, my teeth would stay straight forever. But, like so many of my friends the same age, once I hit my twenties I realized this was not the case: My bite reverted to its old crooked ways, and my teeth once again began to look crowded. Our parents tried to spare us the humiliation of wearing braces in high school or college, but did their good intentions have the perverse effect of making us have to get braces twice?
I’ve been trying to learn more about orthodontic technology online, but haven’t come up with much so far. What is it that makes permanent teeth-straightening so difficult? Apparently the history of metal braces dates back to Ancient Rome, with more orthodontics techniques developing in the 19th century. Still, most orthodontics sites acknowledge that teeth straightening is not an exact science, and more than a few scholarly papers have called for more evidence-based research in the field. Considering how much money braces can cost–between $4,400 and $4,800, according to a recent report in Smart Money–I would have thought the need for evidence-based methods would be a given.
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
May 3rd, 2010 at 7:46 am
I have always wondered about this. My teeth have also shifted again and several of my adult friends are on their second set of braces. Why can’t someone invent a clear, permanent retainer for the inside of the upper and lower teeth?