Some of us no doubt remember their disappointment, in adolescence, when the cleaver fell to the orthodontist. At the end of an appointment, we signed for long (very long) years with a dental apparatus, judged by many as not aesthetic. All this in the hope of correcting, once entered adulthood, an ugly defect in alignment of our teeth.
The great dilemma which was then offered to us (and especially to our parents) at that time was simple. Is it better to favor aesthetics by opting for transparent, but more expensive rings, or then preserving your budget and choosing metal rings? For the new “banded”, the question no longer arises today, since metal devices are now popular, reports the American daily The Washington Post.
“I’m not ashamed!”proudly declares Laura Kissinger, 47, Barmaid in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in the United States. People often approach me in the street and say to me: “I love your dental apparatus!” I smile much more now. ” When she made the decision two years ago to consult a dental device, Laura Kissinger did not hesitate long before opting for metal rings.
His orthodontist, Brian Decker, had however offered him several options, including a transparent gutter or transparent ceramic rings. But her patient already knew what she really wanted – and what she had always wanted, since she was a child and she could not afford an orthodontic apparatus. Metal rings like Drew Barrymore in College attitude (Or Never been kissed In English, released in 1999) or like Ugly Betty (interpreted by America Ferrera) in the eponymous series of the late 2000s.
“Some patients begged me not to remove them!”
This decision still surprises health professionals. “When I started exercising, children and adults did not want dental devices”remembers Brian Decker, who has been receiving more and more requests for metallic devices for five years.
Now teens like adults want it. “It is rather a fashion symbol, he adds. Some patients begged me not to remove them and I replied: “It’s over, it’s been three years!” “ And for good reason, today are many patients who decorate their devices to make them more personal. While fulfilling an orthodontic role, they can be decorated with colored elastic, crystals or jewelry.
For his part, Richard Schechtman, orthodontist in Santa Maria, California, found, about a year ago, an increase in the number of his patients aged 20 to 30 opting for metal dental devices. An observation that he shares with other colleagues and sisters with which he exchanged on the subject. “Dental devices were associated with the stereotype of shame linked to physical appearance, but it is very different today.”
