Graduation from high school or college is a huge milestone in a young person’s life, and the ceremony and celebration are something they’ll remember and cherish for years to come. One way that people remember graduation is with grad photos, so you want to make sure your child’s graduation smile looks its best on the big day.
But if your child has always struggled with smiling for photos because of crooked or misaligned teeth, then the idea of posing in front of the camera for another embarrassing picture is probably an uncomfortable thought. However, there is good news, and that is it’s not too late to get straight teeth that will get your child grinning from ear to ear in time for graduation. If you start now, then your child should be ready by the end of the year with that perfect graduation smile.
Braces Can Give You the Smile
You’ve Been Dreaming of
Braces have been used to straighten misaligned teeth for many years, and today there are many types of braces that patients can pick from. However, the braces that are on the market today still work using a similar principle to braces from thousands of years ago: a framework is attached to the teeth to force the teeth to grow into proper alignment. Braces today are made in a variety of materials, and there are some very high-tech options out there, but they all operate in a similar fashion to give you a straight smile.
Modern Braces Are a Fast-Working Miracle of Engineering
Traditional metal braces took as long as three years to correct misaligned teeth. Three years! And in that time, you had to worry about regular adjustments, frequent trips to the dentist, changing the rubber bands, strange brushing techniques to accommodate the wire, lengthy oral hygiene routines, and more. That is a lot of time to devote to the perfect smile, and while it’s well worth the time and effort, you have far better options today.
Braces have come a long way since the metal appliances of yore, and with the technology that’s available today, you can have a picture-perfect smile in as little as three months to a year. Yes, you heard that right: whereas traditional braces can take as long as three years to correct your smile, modern FASTBRACES can get your teeth straightened in as little as three months! That means if you’ve got graduation approaching at the end of this school year, you can actually have the smile you’ve always wanted in time for your photos and the big ceremony.
Here’s a quick primer on how FASTBRACES work: instead of realigning your teeth in two stages over the course of approximately two years (which is how traditional braces work), FASTBRACES use a different mechanism to correct the position of your teeth’s roots from the start, and this makes for a much faster process.
Gone Are the Days of Unsightly and Conspicuous Traditional Metal Braces
Braces used to be a term that struck fear in the hearts of teenagers because they knew it meant a face full of conspicuous metal for a good portion of their high school career. But another amazing thing about modern braces is that there are options on the market that range from inconspicuous to almost completely invisible. Some options include:
Ceramic braces:
Ceramic braces are great because while they’re very similar to traditional metal braces, they’re the same colour as your teeth, and this makes them much less noticeable. Ceramic braces are also very effective and can correct your smile in as little as six months.
Lingual braces:
These are also similar to traditional Lingual braces, but the difference is that lingual braces are affixed to the back side of your teeth, so you don’t see them at all from the outside of your mouth.
Invisalign:
The most high-tech option for inconspicuous braces is Invisalign, which is a clear acrylic mouthguard-style appliance that’s custom fitted to your teeth. Every two weeks, the aligners get replaced with a new set, just as you would have adjustments done with traditional braces. It’s important to note, however, that while clear aligners are nearly invisible, this system does take at least 12 months to correct misaligned teeth.
Tips for the Big Day: Getting
Your Best Smile
Once you’ve made the leap and opted for braces that will help you have that perfect smile in time for graduation, there are still some oral hygiene issues you’ll want to attend to on the big day to ensure your smile and your grad photos are perfect.
- In the morning and after breakfast, floss to remove any leftover food particles from your teeth, and then give them a good brushing as usual.
- If you eat anything throughout the day, consider rinsing your mouth with mouthwash before the photos are taken, and check a mirror to make sure you don’t have poppy seeds, spinach flecks, or other bits of lunch stuck between your teeth.
- When it comes time to sit for your photo, take a deep breath and relax, and then give the photographer a natural smile.
- And if you need something pleasant to think about to get that radiant whole-face smile, people remember how incredible your teeth and smile are going to look for the rest of your life.
If your child has always struggled with a crooked smile and misaligned teeth, then you should know there are high-tech and modern braces options out there that can provide a straight smile in a few months and in plenty of time for those grad photos at the end of the year.