The Benefits of Visiting an Orthodontist

The day I got my braces was one of the scariest of my life. Even twenty years later I still fill that knot in my stomach when I think about the slow march up the stairs of the office of my orthodontist. I remember mom holding my hand and how much I was just trying to keep all of that fear in. I thought long and hard about the process of putting on the braces, how painful would it be? How hard to look at will my smile be afterwards? I remember that the office had Hall and Oates playing and I think about it whenever I hear "Private Eyes." That waiting room was so full of dread that day.

But when I emerged my orthodontist had done the impossible. He had made me feel like a million bucks about myself and my newly refurbished oral situation. I'm not saying braces and being young were a perfect combination, but it was nowhere near as scary as I had expected. And now I look at my teeth and that one afternoon of completely crippling fear and doubt seems mostly - okay totally - worth it. My smile is straight and people compliment me all the time. Several of my adult friends lament never being able to find the right place for Orthodontics. Others say their parents simply couldn't afford it when they were younger. Medicaid orthodontists are a little more common now I think, I wonder how these poorly teethed adults would fair now.

So lucky me. Very few moments of dread have reaped so much benefit in my life. Certainly every roller coaster I've ever been nervous about has left me shaken and physically battered. The time I was mugged left me $400 poorer and in a police station at 3 a.m., not much good there. All those days coming home with lousy report cards have only haunted my life in the worst way. Perhaps more appropriately, the time my Mom made me get a crew cut was no picnic. But those braces saved my face literally!

I really don't know what kind of scary smile I would be sporting had my folks' not gotten me in to that orthodontist's chair. I would probably feel terrible about myself and barely smile. These friends who missed the chance at braces, I want to tell them now is the time. That they have a whole wide smiling life to consider and that the year(or whatever it takes for an adult's teeth to reset) is not only worth it but one of the smartest things they could ever do. Just the boost in confidence alone is worth it. Take it from me a world class worrier, a great smile can get your life on track!


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HansonPlaceOrtho.com, Hanson Place Orthodontics is a Brooklyn NY orthodontist run by Dr. Yakov Eisenberger dedicated to improving the smiles of patients using the latest treatment technologies.