Orthodontics suffers a special fate online: everyone had braces, knows someone who did, or read a thread, so folklore compounds. Some myths keep people from treatment they want; others sell them treatment that will not work. Seoul Top Dental Hospital in Seocho fact-checks the claims heard most in consultation.
Myths about who and when
“Braces are for teenagers” ignores that teeth move at any age; adult orthodontics is routine, and gum health, not birthdays, is the gatekeeper. “Children should never be treated early” and its twin “every child needs early braces” are both wrong: a screening around seven sorts the few interception cases from the majority who simply get monitored. “Too late after forty” is answered by the forty-plus patients finishing treatment every month.
Myths about harm
“Orthodontics loosens teeth permanently” misreads the biology: teeth are slightly mobile during movement by design, then re-anchor firmly. Permanent looseness comes from untreated gum disease, not from braces. “Extraction ruins the face” confuses planned retraction with error: measured extraction retracts protrusive lips by plan, and the facial-collapse folklore comes from over-retraction in the wrong cases, a diagnosis error rather than a property of extraction. “X-rays during treatment are dangerous” overstates the tiny doses of dental imaging on justified schedules.
Myths about methods
“Clear aligners work for everyone” runs into what aligners cannot grip: they excel at mild-to-moderate cases, and honest clinics decline aligner cases weekly. “Fast braces finish in six months” describes either six front teeth or dangerously fast movement; biology has a speed limit. “Retainers are optional” ignores the most predictable event in orthodontics: relapse. Retention is part of treatment, not an accessory.
Seoul Top Dental Hospital answers myth questions with X-rays, measurements and simulations rather than slogans, with international consultation available. Bring your favorite internet claim to the assessment and have it checked against your own X-rays.