Giving Your Teen Confidence In Their Smile: What You Can Do

25 January 2017
 Categories: Dentist, Blog


Teenagers are often self conscious about their bodies as they begin to mature. They start to notice 'flaws' within themselves, such as their hair color being too dull, their skin being too pimply, or their teeth being too off-colored or even crooked. When your growing child begins expressing a dislike for their smile you can find ways to give them the confidence they need by bringing the subject up with their dentist at their regular checkups and cleanings. Here are ways you can help your teen enjoy their smile and feel better about the way they look.

Braces

Your teen may balk at the thought of being a 'brace face' but luckily there are ways they can have their teeth straightened where the procedure is hardly noticeable to anyone but themselves. Clear aligners through a place like Braces Inc. are a great way to improve your teen's tooth alignment and are designed to be nearly invisible. A common brand for this procedure is Invisalign, which uses custom-made invisible aligners to gently straighten your child's teeth over time. As their teeth begin to take new form, new aligners are custom-fit to continue the process until teeth are completely straightened to your dentist's satisfaction.

If your child's teeth are very crooked, then they can have lingual braces placed on the backs of the teeth. Lingual braces are just like traditional braces only they are placed behind the teeth where they cannot be easily seen by anyone else.

Teeth whitening

If your teen does not like their smile because they wish their teeth were whiter, you can help them with this issue as well. They can have their teeth whitened safely at the dentist's office as young as 10 years of age. It's important that you let your dentist whiten their teeth rather than do the procedure at home so you don't accidentally damage their young tooth enamel or whiten their gums by mistake as part of the procedure. In some cases your child's dentist may want to have X-rays done on their teeth prior to whitening them to make sure there are no issues with existing tooth enamel than can be made worse by the whitening process.

Take your teen to the dentist right away if they are experiencing sore or bleeding gums, have a single discolored tooth, or if they are otherwise complaining of tooth pain or discomfort. It's important that you address health-related dental issues before tackling aesthetics for your teen's oral health.


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