If You’re Thinking About Orthodontics at a Gangnam Station Orthodontic Clinic in Your 20s?

Hello. I’m orthodontic specialist Park Yeol.

Today, I’d like to talk about what you may lose and what you may gain when starting orthodontic treatment, so patients can know in advance and make their decision.

When you start orthodontic treatment and get braces, it’s hard to eat normally at first. Even when you do eat, it doesn’t really feel like you’re eating.

For example, chicken is supposed to have the pleasure of chewing it, but many people end up cutting it into strips and eating it that way. That’s not really eating chicken.

The same goes for cold noodles. Cold noodles are best when you slurp them, but at first you may have to put them on a plate and cut them before eating. Try eating them that way first—what enjoyment could there be in that!

And after you get braces, you become aware of the braces being visible. In other words, you start to worry because people can see them.

From my experience, after about 2 to 3 months at first, or as long as 4 to 5 months, the front teeth begin to align, and for people who had protruding mouths, the mouth also starts to move in a little bit.

So around that time, the feeling of being self-conscious improves a lot. It would be good to know that during the first few months of orthodontic treatment, your mouth may look a bit more protruded because of the braces.

Another thing is the issue of losing facial fullness, and you should know about that as well. I tell patients this at the beginning of treatment.

I tell them that even if they lose a little facial fullness early in treatment, it will come back after some time. If you’re told in advance, it’s less emotionally stressful. But if no one says anything and then you notice that your face has become slimmer, you may start searching online and come across reviews saying that orthodontic treatment makes your face lose a lot of fullness and that it never comes back later. That can be very alarming.

Another issue is brushing during orthodontic treatment. People don’t usually worry much about brushing.

So what we tell patients at the clinic is that right after braces are attached, a lot of food gets stuck, so you should use an oral irrigator like a Waterpik.

If you use a Waterpik, larger food particles come out well. Then, for the food that remains, an interdental brush or dental floss can be very helpful.

But if the clinic does not teach you how to use interdental brushes and floss, brushing takes a very long time and the debris between the teeth doesn’t come out well.

And the next issue—I personally think this is the most important. Orthodontic treatment is something you do to become more attractive. I think beauty is about your impression.

Being handsome,

being beautiful—of course those are good too, but if your expression and overall feeling are good, that’s what matters. The part that expresses that feeling the most is your smile,

so when orthodontic treatment makes your teeth straight, you tend to smile more. I think that may be the most important thing you gain from orthodontics.

People often say that after orthodontic treatment, they gain confidence. It also seems to have a fairly strong effect on work performance and school grades.

I used to be somewhat unsure about that, but after observing it over time, it seems clear. I see it often, so for patients who are expected to get good results from orthodontic treatment, I strongly recommend it.

You can find more detailed information in the YouTube video below.