Many teens who wear traditional metal or clear braces embrace the opportunity to punch up their orthodontia with multi-colored rubber bands. Nearly every time you visit your orthodontist and get your braces tightened, you’ll get new rubber bands, which means you have an opportunity to change up your color scheme multiple times over the life of your braces.
The Importance of Color
The color of your braces is an important way to express yourself, show your creative side, and make wearing braces more fun than it otherwise might be. Patients choose their colors to match the clothes they’re wearing, to represent their favorite sports team, or to be festive and celebrate an upcoming holiday.
There is a science and psychology of color and, you may be drawn to some colors over others depending on your unique personality traits. Here is what your choice of colors might say about you (but it’s also OK to just like a color and pick it for your braces for no significant reason):
- Red: Red is a charged color, the shade of passion, fire, and heat. Choosing this color shows intensity, but also caring. Or maybe you just love hearts and or Red Hots candies (which you shouldn’t be eating with braces).
- Orange: Orange and uniqueness go hand in hand. Only the most creative and daring patients choose orange for their braces. Though it’s great for anyone, especially at Halloween time and throughout the fall.
- Yellow: Joy, happiness, brightness – yellow is all things positive. But it is also attached to energy and intellect. Many people choose yellow to match their sunny disposition or simply to grab some attention.
- Green: If you are all about nature, green elastics show your love for Mother Earth. This shade is also associated with growth and stability. Warning though: Green elastics can sometimes look like you have food stuck in your teeth, so choose your shade of green carefully or blend it with another color.
- Blue: Known as the color of calm and healing, blue is a sign of tranquility. This color also indicates that someone has a level head and is rather serious. It’s a great color to match with a bright elastic (hello yellow or orange) to tone down the drama.
- Purple: Purple has so many associations – passion, royalty, creativity, mystery. This is a common choice for people who love the arts, and it’s a mix of red and blue, which is a great combination.
- Black: The color black has a bad reputation on the color wheel, but it is also a regal, mysterious, and elegant color. If you are bold and have a strong sense of style, black elastics can work for you.
- White: Innocence and cleanliness are typically associated with the color white. Some patients want to choose this shade for their elastics because they think it will blend into their teeth and be less noticeable. In reality, white elastics may actually stand out more. They can easily become discolored from eating or drinking certain foods.
Get Braces That Suit Your Personality
Your choice for your elastics is up to you. Go for all one color, choose an alternating combo, get a rainbow, or ask your orthodontist to surprise you. Orthodontics do serious work, but who says they can’t be fun? It’s a great way to experiment and show your personality from month to month. And, remember, if you don’t love what you selected, it’ll only be a few weeks until you see your orthodontist and can change out your rubber bands again.
Learn more about braces and what can work for you. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Soleil Roberts at Soleil Orthodontics in Woodinville.