Braces saves money in the long run
When you think about getting braces for your child, you probably think of it as investing in a straight smile that will give her confidence it takes to open doors in the world. But you probably never even considered that getting braces for your child now is investing in her financial security for the future! It’s true. When your child starts her adult life with a straight, healthy smile, there are plenty of monetary and medical benefits down the road. Here are three ways that getting braces for your child now saves money in the long run.
1. Braces prevent expensive dental problems later
When your child’s teeth are straight, they’re easier to clean, both at the dentist’s office and in your bathroom at home. That means it’s easier to keep bacteria and plaque cleaned away so they don’t cause expensive problems like cavities, gingivitis, gum recession, bone loss, and more.
Over the course of a lifetime, your child will visit the dentist office more than 100 times! Think about the lifetime cost savings if they don’t need fillings, bridges, crowns, gum grafts, etc. By straightening your child’s teeth now, you could potentially be saving your child tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Wouldn’t you rather your child spend that money on a college education, a trip around the world, or a big down payment on a house?
2. Braces protect the shape and function of teeth
When teeth are out of alignment, wear and tear on the enamel happens at an accelerated pace. In a balanced bite, the teeth generally wear more or less equally throughout the mouth. But if your bite is imbalanced, certain teeth will wear faster than others, further exacerbating any existing asymmetry.
In addition to excessive tooth wear impacting the function of the bite, it can also lead to tooth wear that’s visible, too. Tooth wear in the front of the teeth make a crooked smile even more unsightly, leaving larger gaps and wearing the biting ends of the teeth. If you’ve ever seen someone with excessively short front teeth, which is particularly noticeable in the older generations, that’s caused by uneven wearing of the teeth. Shorter teeth are associated with old age, and they can make a face look older than it needs to.
Wear and tear on the teeth can necessitate the need for caps and crowns later on, not only for cosmetic reasons, but also because extreme wear can expose nerves and cause pain.
3. You save your child from paying for braces later on
If you choose not to get braces for your child now, you’re banking on one of two things:
- Your child is always going to be satisfied with their crooked smile or
- Your child will pay for braces later in life, themselves.
Choosing to put the financial responsibility of orthodontic treatment on your child is a personal decision, but keep in mind: it’s more difficult to move teeth in a fully-grown adult mouth. Therefore, adult braces treatment can be longer and therefore more expensive than childhood braces. Also, your child may not want to be wearing braces to their professional job, interviews, or PTA meetings when they’re grown.
