Are you worried about how braces will make your smile look in pictures? Here are a few tips from our Vancouver orthodontist on how to look great in pictures throughout your orthodontic treatment.
Oral Hygiene
With or without braces, having clean teeth is essential to looking your very best in pictures.
The components of braces (brackets, wires, springs, rubber bands) can attract and trap food and plaque. Proper brushing and flossing helps to clean away food particles and plaque, making your smile healthy and bright.
Brush and floss after every meal and be sure to use your interdental brush to clean your braces as well as the spaces between your teeth and the archwires.
Flossing with braces is easy and essential to keeping your smile bright. Just feed the floss through the space between the main arch wire and the portion of the tooth closest to the gum. Use a gentle sawing motion while moving the floss up and down the sides of your teeth. Be extra careful not to use too much force, especially around the archwire.
Just Smile!
Everyone loves a happy and confident smile. Now, that you know your teeth are clean and healthy, you have nothing to hide. Own your braces! Don’t hold back your smile in pictures, just keep on reminding yourself that you look great with your braces.
If you're new to wearing braces a little practice might help you to smile more confidently. It's going to feel silly at first, but smile at yourself in the mirror...not fake smiling...real smiling. Before you know it you'll be feeling great about your smile, even with braces.
Make-Up Options for Braces
If you're an outgoing person, try putting on some red lipstick to highlight your braces. Look for a darker shade to compliment your skin tone and make your teeth look whiter.
Trying to draw attention away from your braces? Choose a neutral lip colour and try applying more dramatic eye makeup to help draw attention away from your braces.
Choose Less Noticeable Braces
If you just can't imagine ever feeling confident smiling while wearing traditional metal braces, you may want to consider a lower profile orthodontic treatment. Here are a few of the more discreet orthodontic treatments that are available:
Invisalign
Invisalign clear orthodontic aligners are almost completely invisible when worn. You can straighten your teeth with Invisalign and hardly anyone will notice. The clear aligners are also removable. So, for those extra important shots you can remove your aligners, then put them back in once the picture has been taken.
Lingual Braces
Lingual braces are similar to traditional metal braces but they are attached to the backs of your teeth instead of the fronts. You can smile freely with lingual braces and no one will know you're straightening your smile.
In-Ovation
In-Ovation Self-Ligating braces have no ties or elastics to trap food, and they are smaller than traditional metal braces. This lower profile treatment option might help you to smile more confidently.
Ceramic Braces
‘Translucent’ ceramic braces are less visible than traditional metal braces because the brackets are made of a tooth-coloured ceramic material that blends in with your teeth.