How to Take a Good Holiday Pic While Wearing Braces

The holidays are fast upon us and you know what that means, right? The family holiday photo. An event you tend to dread every year, but this year in particular because now you are wearing braces. Having braces on your teeth can make you feel self-conscious when it is photo time, but unfortunately there is no way to avoid it so might as well embrace it.

Make holiday photos with braces a fun experience with these quick tips:

Keep It Clean

While you can’t do anything about the braces themselves, by meticulously keeping your teeth and braces clean, you will ensure that food stuck between your teeth or stains on the braces don’t distract from your beautiful face. Sometimes with braces we also tend to get dry, chapped lips, especially in the winter time so keep some chap stick or lip balm on hand to freshen up your lips before the photo.

To ensure that you are always photo-ready, always carry with you a small bag with your toothbrush, floss and other essentials. That way, you can simply duck into the nearest bathroom and double check to make sure your smile is looking as clean and healthy as possible.

Practice Your Smile

If you tend to press your lips together when you smile now that you wear braces, it is time to find a new way to smile. While you might think a closed mouth smile is best to keep people from seeing the braces, the pressed lips actually are not attractive in a photo. Try instead a smile where your lips are just slightly parted. This way you are not showing a lot of brace, but it is still a friendlier and open expression. Don’t be afraid to practice in a mirror until you have the smile you want down pat.

Avoid Flash Photography

If your family is going to a professional photographer then they will most likely have special light filtering equipment that will tone done the harshness of any lines around your mouth or eyes, but if a family member is just taking the photo then suggest having it taken outside in natural light. This will give you the most flattering photo.

Avoid Dark Lipstick

Wearing lipstick with braces can be tricky. The right shade of lipstick can draw the eye to your beautiful smile and away from the braces, but if you pick too dark of a color it can draw too much attention to your braces. Sometimes it takes trial and error to find the right shade for your complexion and sense of style so play around with it before it is photo time.

Be Playful with Your Braces

Remember that there is no need to be embarrassed about your braces. They tell everyone around you that you care about your health and that you are doing something positive for yourself. Instead of hiding your braces show them off proudly.

Have fun with them and choose different color bands to wear to make cool holiday patterns that will make everyone around you smile.

Here are some tips for picking the right color for your braces:

• Come prepared to the orthodontist with an idea of what colors look best on you and what colors complement each other. If you just try to make an impromptu decision on the spot, you might get overwhelmed by all the choices and not think things through as much as you probably should.
• Also find out if your orthodontist has a color wheel you can choose from. If they have a wheel that is interactive, you can play around with the different colors before you even go in for your appointment.
• Take into consideration what you normally like to wear, what the typical color scheme of your wardrobe is. You don’t want your mouth to clash with what you are wearing.
• Avoid choosing black or brown bands that look too much like pieces of food stuck in your teeth. That look doesn’t look good on anybody, right?
• Be creative. Besides traditional holiday colors like red and green there are other ways to make your braces more festive like a blue and white snow theme.
• Pick colors that complement your skin tone and eye color. The rule of thumb is that warmer colors like red, peach, coral and olive green complement darker skin tones while cooler colors like bright blue, pink and turquoise are best for lighter skin tones. If you have blue eyes, blue bands will make your eyes pop more. If you have brown or hazel eyes, instead go for deep blues or purples.
• Check out the online tool, Braces Color Picker, to help you play around with colors and patterns.
• Unless you have very bright white teeth, avoid white, gold and yellow elastics because they may make yellow teeth appear even more yellow.

If you just can’t bear the thought of pictures with braces then before starting your orthodontic treatment, seriously consider choosing Invisalign aligners or lingual braces. Invisalign aligners are clear plastic removable aligners that are barely noticeable in photos so they will make you feel less self-conscious.

Avoid Problematic Holiday Treats

During the holiday season, we all love to indulge a little, eating more sweets and drinking alcohol, but when you are wearing braces you unfortunately still have to be careful of what you are putting in your mouth. No matter how tempting you still can’t eat nuts, popcorn or sticky candies like licorice or caramels and you need to limit the number of high acidic drinks you have like white that will stain and damage your teeth and braces.

If you are suddenly pulled into a photo at a holiday party, you don’t want to have to worry about stains or candy sticking on your braces, so make sure to take precautions by avoid certain food and drink.

Want to learn more about how to take a good holiday picture with braces or how to best take care of your braces this holiday season, contact Orthodontics Limited today.