This time of year brings spooky stories and scary urban legends about many ordinary parts of our lives. And as you can imagine, the world of orthodontics tends to be full of scary myths and unbelievable stories about the perils of having braces. As with any subject, you’ll learn many of them are simply not true, and when it comes to braces, people can get pretty creative. We’re here today to serve as your myth busters. Here are six scary urban legends about braces that aren’t true.
1. Braces Increase Your Chance of Getting Struck By Lightning
Fortunately, having braces does not increase your chance of getting struck by lightning, nor does it decrease the chance. In fact, 1 in 700,000 are your odds of becoming a lightning strike victim in one year. To avoid this, it’s recommended that you stay indoors during a lightning storm…with or without braces.
2. You’ll Get Stuck Together If You Kiss Someone Else with Braces
Don’t worry, this is virtually impossible! The reason? Modern-day brackets and wires are simply too small to get in the way. This makes it impossible for them to lock together, so there’s no reason to be scared of a kiss!
3. Braces Can Interfere with Wi-Fi Signals
Nope! Braces are not comprised of the same materials that can potentially interfere with radio or Wi-Fi signals. So the next time you’re having connection problems, don’t blame it on your braces. Blame it on your Wi-Fi provider!
4. Braces Can Set Off Metal Detectors
Think all eyes will be on you as you go through the metal detector at the airport? Only if you’re carrying something you’re not supposed to have! Braces won’t ever be the reason you set off a metal detector, so you can put this urban legend to rest. Again, braces are made up of different materials than those that tend to set these devices off.
5. Wearing Braces Hurts All the Time
Excruciating pain? We don’t think so. In fact, aside from when you first get braces and when you get them adjusted, you may just forget you have them! Additionally, even when you do get your braces adjusted, most patients report feeling only mild discomfort, not pain, so experiencing pain all the time is just simply not true!
6. My Braces Are Going to Rust
Metal and water don’t mix. At least that’s what we’ve always heard, so why is it any different with braces? Well, the metal in braces is a different type of metal, made to withstand moist environments, so there’s no need to worry about your braces rusting at any point in your treatment.
Busted! We can confidently say we’ve heard it all when it comes to braces myths, and we wanted to shed some light on some of the more common urban legends during this scary time of year. So the next time you hear something scary about braces, think about it logically and bust that myth right then and there!
