Clear Braces on Celebrities

This week a front page of The News Tribune caught my eye. The headline announced a local NFL player returning to play after recovering from an injury. The accompanying photo of the star was zoomed in enough to reveal he was wearing a full set of clear ceramic braces. The photograph was of Marcus Trufant of the Seahawks, a product of Tacoma's own Wilson High School. Did you even know that he was wearing braces? Probably not, until I pointed it out.

To see an NFL star wearing braces means to me that we have a come a long way in what is socially acceptable. We can presume that on a fat NFL salary, he can afford a dream home, drive a luxury car and still easily afford the best in orthodontic treatment. In a age when Tiger Woods can have a same-day Lasic procedure to improve his game, surely a NFL player must be able to find an instant alternative to wearing braces to achieve a great smile. But, just as the skills and abilities to play at the highest level of football don't come overnight, the most conservative orthodontic treatment and most natural resulting smile often takes patience and discipline to achieve. Marcus Trufant doesn't worry about how his braces look like at the next party or if he's perceived as less intimidating to his opponents. His eye is on the prize - the prize that someday in the future his braces will come off to reveal a dazzling "Superbowl-worthy" smile.

Especially for adult patients who need to avoid the "tin-grin," our practice offers clear ceramic braces. These are made from tooth matching porcelain. In a recently published study, the brackets I use were rated as the most esthetic ceramic bracket of all self-ligating brackets. This means that people will remember you for your personality and not for your braces. To see what is possible for your smile call (253) 565-0330.