If you want your teeth nice and straight, your dentist could send you for braces at the orthodontist. The orthodontist is a specialist at moving teeth around and for this they will attach small brackets to your teeth. Through these brackets, your orthodontist will thread some springy wire, hence the nickname “train tracks”. The brackets are usually metal, but it is possible to have clear brackets which are much less obvious. Speak to your orthodontist if this is something you would want.

Does it hurt? Well, when the wires are changed, your teeth can become a bit uncomfortable for a couple of days, but it will then settle down. Also you may feel the brackets rubbing your cheeks – your orthodontist will give you some special wax you can rub onto the brackets to help. If you have any discomfort lasting more than a couple of days then it would be a good idea to go back to your orthodontist just to have things checked. The same applies if any of the brackets come unglued.

With all this gear attached to your teeth you are probably wondering how you are going to eat! Well usually you can carry on as normal but definitely avoid really hard foods and sticky foods such as toffees, which you shouldn’t be eating anyway! Because braces will make it more difficult to clean your teeth, it is very important you don’t have too much sweet stuff because, if you do, you can get white circles of early decay on your teeth which will be permanent.