Braces ???

I was pretty shocked when my tween didn't balk about getting braces last year. He was actually almost excited! Apparently, braces are now considered pretty cool among preteens. You can get the bands in different colors now so it really is quite a fashion statement. My tween has had fuschia (it's the "new black", you know, even for boys!), his hockey team colors, and assorted other color combos.

The most difficult part of having braces has been the extensive brushing and flossing routine. It's difficult to get a tween boy to understand that it takes upwards of 5 - 10 minutes, 3 times a day to do the whole brushing routine properly. He's also been known to sneak an occasional forbidden snack (Skittles, gum....yikes!). He's been a trooper when he's had to have expanders. They can be uncomfortable the first day or two and his speech tends to be slurred for about a week until he adjusts to the appliance.

We are almost near the end of his experience with braces, though. Here are some tips if your tween has braces.