Maybe you have already heard it said that a beautiful smile can work wonders on a person’s whole appearance.

If you doubt it, just take a picture of a beautiful person in a magazine and make some marks on his or her teeth. See what happens? It’s actually the smile that puts the finishing touch on one’s appearance. Or more specifically, a smile with beautiful teeth.

Teeth talk. And people today can choose from a range of dental treatments to get that bright smile they’re dreaming of. Some might opt for bleaching, implants or coatings such as “crowns” and “veneers”, while others choose braces to straighten their teeth and make their smile even prettier.

No matter what dental braces will cost — painful days wearing them, eating restrictions, difficulty in speaking, in addition to the expense — they just won’t be discouraged from having their teeth wired with this popular orthodontic appliance.

“From the beginning, I knew it would cause me pain during the first few weeks and force me to eat soft food,” says 25-year-old Ayuning Riskiyani, who has been wearing braces for two years. “But I thought I had to wear them because I couldn’t stand seeing my lower teeth – they looked very ugly and I looked like a hamster,” she laughs.

As Riskyani’s experience reveals, some people would rather deal with such not-so-fun experiences than spend their time hiding their troubled teeth. After all, as Riskiyani points out, it’s better to think of what she will get in return: A set of straight, pretty teeth.  

So those who might think the same way and be considering getting braces, there are some things you have to know about this treatment — just so you know better what you are getting yourself into.

To begin with, perhaps it would be good to know what braces actually do for you.

According to cosmetic dentist Ruby Karyadi, aesthetically, braces are used to realign the position of your teeth. Even though it’s primarily seen as a cosmetic treatment, having braces can also benefit oral health, as straightening the teeth can prevent some dental problems possibly caused by improper alignment. Improper alignment, also known as malocclusion, is a condition where the upper teeth don’t quite fit over the lower teeth.

“Improper alignment can cause food leftovers to be stuck between the teeth,” says Ruby, a private practitioner at Dr. Ruby and Partners Clinic in Central Jakarta. This, she adds, “could cause dental cavities or inflammation of the gums”.

Orthodontist Johan Arief Budiman adds that if not taken seriously, severe malocclusion may cause jaw joint problems such as jaw clicking (where a “click” sound is heard when you open or close your mouth).

“Orthodontic treatments work to overcome such malocclusion problems,” says Johan, also a lecturer at the Health Department’s Dental Technician Study. Orthodontic devices such as braces, he adds, “could pull back bucked teeth and realign overcrowded teeth, as well as ectopic teeth”.

So how do braces work to realign our teeth?

Well, braces are impressive little things; they move the teeth and remodel the surrounding bone.

Basically, braces do their job by putting steady pressure on the teeth and holding them in place for a certain length of time. In the case of traditional metal braces — the ones with wires and rubber bands — the wires help to move the teeth, while the bands help to correct the way the teeth line up.  

According to both Johan and Ruby, there are no age limitations on wearing braces — both young and old can use them. Ruby suggests there are two periods when someone could choose braces. The first, called early treatment or interceptive orthodontics, is taken before all permanent teeth grow, usually between the ages of 9 and 11. Teeth disorders such as an “underbite” — where the lower jaw is bigger than the upper jaw — are best treated at this stage. Treatment in the second period, she adds, which occurs after all the permanent teeth grow, focuses on finishing and detailing.

“The success of treatment usually can be seen around six months after the braces are first applied,” Johan says, adding that although the teeth already look straight, patients shouldn’t be hasty in removing their braces as the new position of their teeth is actually still labile.

The time required to keep on the braces varies according to many factors, including the condition of malocclusion, type of treatment and whether the patients regularly see their orthodontist or not, he says. However, he adds, patients with minor malocclusion usually need around six to 12 months of treatment; severe malocclusion can require two to four years.

So, if you’re now ready for braces, there’s another important thing you should consider: What type of braces do you want?

Generally, several types of braces are popularly known. According to Johan, most braces are made of metal, ceramic or plastic. The stereotypical image of braces is someone with their mouth full of metal.

Today, however, there are many kinds of braces that are much less noticeable — they’re either transparent or the same color as your teeth, as well as being available in a mini size, which is a quarter smaller than conventional braces. Adding to the list are the Lingual braces that go behind your teeth, where no one can see them.

Let’s start with the traditional metal braces, which are very strong and can withstand most types of treatment.

Available in silver and gold colors, metal braces are made of stainless steel. The gold-plated ones are supposedly for patients allergic to nickel (a component of stainless steel), but may also be chosen by those who prefer the look of gold over the traditional silver-colored braces. This is because golden braces look a bit more “jewelry-like”.   

But if the golden look doesn’t do it for you, perhaps you want to try the wild-looking WildSmiles Brackets. Developed by Nebraska orthodontist Clarke Stevens, these braces come in various shapes like hearts, flowers, footballs, baseballs, and stars. Dare to wear them?

If you don’t, just pick conventional metal braces with rubber bands that come in more than just the colors of a rainbow. So you could coordinate the color of your braces with your outfit. Pink for Valentine’s Day? Why not?

There’s another type of metal braces called the Viazi braces, or “FastBraces”. A patented technique created by Texan orthodontist Anthony D. Viazis, the braces are triangular and use a low-force square wire. The Viazi technique is claimed to result in less pain and sensitivity, with a faster completion of treatment than conventional metal braces.  

Lingual braces are yet another type of metal braces. As mentioned above, these braces are placed behind the teeth, making them virtually invisible to other people. Although Lingual braces sound exciting for those who want to look “braceless”, it’s important to note that this kind of braces is reported to hurt the tongue, making it difficult to speak at first. Besides, because the treatment is highly specialized (not all orthodontists offer this service), the braces tend to be more expensive than the traditional metal braces.

If considering metal braces, note also that they may irritate your gums at first. However, after a few weeks, when your cheeks get “toughened up”, they are not a problem anymore. Besides, orthodontists today use dental wax, a special kind of wax to protect cheeks, lips and gums from the sharp edges of metal braces.

According to Johan, metal braces remain popular today because of their longevity. However, “this type of braces is considered less attractive for some people” — because they look so obvious, like having earrings placed on your teeth.

For this reason, Johan says, dental companies have developed less noticeable braces such as transparent braces and those made of ceramic or porcelain, and even sapphire — all of which come in the same color as the wearer’s teeth.  

The type of braces Tom Cruise wore, if you ever noticed, were ceramic braces. Made of composite material, the braces are very strong and are designed so that they won’t stain or discolor over long periods of time. Ceramic braces are translucent, so they blend in very well with the natural tooth color.

This means that unlike traditional metal braces, with ceramic braces your smile will not look “metallic”.
Some people feel that these braces are more comfortable than metal and irritate their gums less. However, according to Ruby, the treatment can take a few months longer and ceramic braces are usually more expensive than traditional metal brackets.  

More expensive than ceramic braces are Sapphire braces. As the name suggests, these braces are made of pure monocrystalline sapphire; they are very strong and do not stain. Because sapphire braces are very translucent, they look best on people with very white teeth as they seem to “disappear” on your teeth. If your teeth are less than white, they may tend to stand out. So, in that case, the ceramic brackets would be a better choice for you.

If your main priority is to get beautiful teeth in mere months, then Ruby recommends you choose the latest system, called Powerprox Six Month Braces. As the name suggests, it gives you the smile you’ve always wanted in just six months.

“The system combines the latest technology with the existing orthodontic techniques and works to safely move your teeth faster, using low force,” Ruby explains.

“[The system] can be done to permanent teeth that are crowded or have spaces between them, but without complex malocclusion problems,” she adds.

If Powerprox makes you curious, then perhaps Invisalign will also. Invisalign, according to Johan, is a removable orthodontic device that benefits from the latest 3D technology, as well as digital and virtual technology.

Invisalign consists of strong plastic trays that are fabricated especially for you. They are indeed invisible — therefore some dentists prefer to call it an aligner rather than braces.

With Invisalign, you can get your teeth straightened without anyone seeing that you are wearing “braces”! Invisalign is easier to clean than traditional braces, and when you want to eat, you simply remove the aligner from your mouth.

Invisalign doesn’t irritate your gums as much as traditional braces and it’s stain-free. However, it usually works only for teeth without severe problems.

“The development of this [orthodontic] system is relatively slow,” Johan reveals, adding, “This is because of the high prices.”

Indeed — Invisalign treatment in Indonesia could cost two to eight times more than traditional metal braces, which could cost around Rp 5 million (US$500) to 20 million.

Whatever type of braces you pick, Johan reminds us that we shouldn’t use orthodontic braces just for fashion purposes. Why?

“Because that would waste time, attention and money,” he says, adding that there aren’t general rules for pricing braces.

“Expensive orthodontic [devices] don’t always mean they’re good, or that the cheap ones are poor,” he says. “[The prices and quality] depend on [individual] cases, the materials and system used, as well as the dentist’s expertise and patient’s compliance.”

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