June 21 is National Selfie Day! It’s the perfect occasion to snap a picture and share your beautiful smile with friends and family on social media. Although many people with braces feel self-conscious about their smile, you shouldn’t let this hold you back from snapping a selfie! There’s no need to be embarrassed about braces, and you can still look great in a photo without hiding your pearly whites.

Here at James T. Hutta Orthodontics, we have some tips for rocking your braces this National Selfie Day:

• Practice good oral hygiene. You want your selfie to capture your smile—not the leftover food caught in the wires of your braces. Make sure to brush and floss carefully before taking photos so that your teeth look clean and bright.
• Take care of your lips. Dry lips can catch on your braces and tear at the skin. When you have braces, it’s especially important to apply lip balm regularly. Your moisturized lips will look so much better in a photo!
• Have fun with color. When choosing a color for your elastic bands, you have the opportunity to treat your braces like an accessory! Instead of trying to downplay your braces, highlight them with your favorite color. These bands come in pretty much every color of the rainbow, so have some fun playing around with various shades! You could coordinate your braces to a particular outfit, match your eye color, or change out the colors seasonally for different holidays.
• Don’t use flash. Flash can reflect off the metal of your braces and potentially ruin your photo. Instead of using flash, you should try to find a natural light source for your selfie.
• Play around with makeup. When prepping for your selfie, try out different shades of lipstick to see what looks the best with your band color. If you’re still hoping to detract attention from your mouth, you could also try out a bold eyeliner or eyeshadow look.
• Own it! Nothing makes a smile look better than confidence. You won’t have braces forever, so you might as well have some fun, smile wide, and rock that selfie.

Is it about time to get those elastic bands replaced (and maybe trade them in for a new color)? Give us a call to schedule your appointment today!