TEENS & amp; TEETH Braced for style

Since more celebrities are choosing to get braces, kids today are more excited about getting them.
By NOOR NAJEEG
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Tom Cruise. Gwen Stefani. Brett Favre. What do these celebrities have in common?
The answer is that in recent years, they have all comfortably smiled for cameras showing off their traditional braces.
Years ago, braces cost as much as a car and inspired unwanted names such as "Brace Face" and "Metal Mouth." But today, advances in technology have made braces more affordable, more comfortable and are giving patients more options for straightening their teeth.
"Today kids are excited to get braces whereas before, it was considered a taboo thing," said Bryon Kozak, an orthodontist in Kenosha, Wis.
Braces first began to appear in Tuscon, Ariz., in the early 1900s and are recognized as the first specialty of dentistry. Back then, braces were usually only used by the very wealthy.
Today's options
Through the years, techniques and styles of braces have evolved, and now there are varieties including traditional metal braces, clear braces and Invisalign -- the newest style, which is an invisible way to straighten your teeth. It uses a series of clear removable aligners to straighten your teeth without wires or brackets.
Jillian Neave, a 13-year-old pupil at Bristol School in Bristol, Wis., chose Invisalign over traditional braces because they are a lot less noticeable. Neave said she felt much more comfortable with something clear in her mouth rather than the idea of metal.
One drawback, she added, is that the clear bands have a tendency to turn yellow, which makes her teeth look yellow. Brushing and flossing more often usually helps, Neave said.
Jonathan McComb, a 15-year-old from Christian Life School in Kenosha, Wis., also opted for the Invisalign style. Like Neave, McComb decided to get Invisalign because he liked the option of not making his braces too obvious. He stuck with metal ones for his bottom teeth, because they're harder to notice there, he said.
After just two months, both Neave and McComb said they started to notice improvement in their teeth, they said.
Going for metal
However there are still teens out there who prefer traditional metal braces. Perhaps following the lead of Stefani and Cruise, Amanda Merit, a 14-year-old at Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wis., chose metal braces to straighten her teeth.
Although they are not removable like Invisalign, the metal braces do tend to work faster. They can also move teeth that are in more difficult positions, orthodontist Kozak said.
Merit, a cheerleader at her school, said she's never embarrassed to flash her smile.
"The best part of metal braces is that the temptation to take out the braces if they hurt isn't there," she said.
Kozak said that even with all the changes that have happened in orthodontics in recent years, more changes can still be expected. Someday, it might even be possible to use orthodontics to move teeth in just one day, he said.
Imagine how many stars will think about orthodontics then.