Well, I'm an orthodontist and I place braces in teeth to correct the SMILE TRAIN, as I would like it to call. And the most frequent question I face from parents is "Doc, does it interfere with my kid's studies". Often I fail to make them understand that braces don't affect their children intellect that they suddenly become dull in their studies and neither do braces distract the child form books. All in vain.
But recently I came across a photo of P V SINDHU, yes u heard me right the same girl who made entire country proud by winning a silver medal at Rio Olympics.
I was going through old photos of SINDHU on Google and saw a photo of her in which she was on finishing podium at Commonwealth games. She won bronze in the games. Yes it's a great achievement. But what amused me is and actually made me happy is the fact that she was wearing braces on teeth. Later I found she was treated by one of my friends.
She was undergoing orthodontic treatment while she was playing at Commonwealth games and finished the treatment just before Olympics.
Now tell me is preparing for Olympic medal through a hard work of 13 hours play per day is less than your child preparation for IIT or MBBS. No not at all. Braces did not stop SINDHU from winning medals. Why would it stop your child from scoring ranks in competitive exams?
Treating children with crooked or irregular teeth at an early age is important since it gives us a leeway of correcting growth of jaws. But since parents are unnecessarily worried or rather misinformed about orthodontic treatment they discourage children from wearing braces during schooling. It not only makes our work difficult but also makes go through a difficult phase in life. Children with crooked teeth are often made fun of. And that affects their studies and self-esteem too.
So don't delay the treatment of your child. Look at the parents of SINDHU. They sacrificed a lot for her. Same time they understood the importance of braces and took her to an orthodontist.