Braces are a wonderful tool for fixing a wide range of dental problems. But braces are also a long-term commitment that require some changes to your daily life that you might not think about in advance. Thankfully, these changes are manageable with some thought and planning. Here are three ways having braces can affect your daily life.
French Kissing
Many older movies and books portray the title, brace-wearing character suffering a disaster when trying to kiss someone. Usually, the hard metal of the hard brackets or ties end up cutting the lips or gums of one or both of the kissing partners. Modern brace wearers can rest somewhat easier. Modern braces have softer brackets and ties to prevent injury during everyday activities such as kissing.
But as a brace wearer, you still need to be cautious and inform your partner about your braces. French kissing is still possible if both parties use light pressure, move carefully, and communicate when anything becomes uncomfortable.
Lisping
Braces won't cause a permanent lisp, but when you have new braces, the positioning of the hardware can impede your way of speaking to the point that it sounds like a lisp. You will simply need to practice talking and try repositioning your tongue while you do so. Once you find a more comfortable position for your tongue, the lisp will go away. But it can take some time to break the habits of your natural way of speaking.
Try reading aloud each night from a children's book, which often focus on words with distinct pronunciations. If you are bilingual, or taking a foreign language in school, you may require some additional practice as the pronounciations in foreign languages are often distinctly different from English.
Medical Testing
If you've had an MRI in the past, or watch medical shows on television, then you know that the magnets in MRI's can literally rip metal from a patient's body. But braces are made of a non-magnetic metal that doesn't pose any risk to you, as a patient, during an MRI procedure.
However, your doctor might still want your wires removed before the procedure. That's because the placement of the wires can cause voids, or blank spots, on the imaging. If your medical problem is potentially causing problems around your jaw or teeth, the wire voids can impede proper diagnosis. If you have any further questions, talk to MRI experts such as the Southwest Diagnostic Centers Of Colorado Springs LLC.
Share21 October 2014
