KIDS BRACE FOR FASHIONABLE HOLIDAY; ALL THE RAGE: COLORED EL (Baltimore) Sun (c) 1996 Baltimore Sun. All rts. reserv. 08353122 KIDS BRACE FOR FASHIONABLE HOLIDAY; ALL THE RAGE: COLORED ELASTIC TIES HAVE MADE BRACES A STATUS SYMBOL, AND CHILDREN CAN EVEN CHOOSE RETAINERS THAT GLOW IN THE DARK. BALTIMORE MORNING SUN (BS) - Tuesday December 19, 1995 By: Tom Keyser SUN STAFF Edition: Final Section: News (Local) Page: 1B Word Count: 1,085 TEXT: The most colorful Christmas decorations this year may not be on your tree. They might be in your child's mouth. Colored braces are the rage. And at Christmastime, red and green are the colors of choice -- although Jewish children celebrating Hanukkah might select blue and white and African-Americans celebrating Kwanzaa might choose black, red and green. The colors come from the elastic ties that bind the braces' metal brackets and wires, ties that can be changed at every monthly checkup. It's the colors -- from hot pink to black -- that have transformed braces from a teen-ager's nightmare into a fashion statement. "I just saw 39 patients this morning, and probably 30 wanted red and green," said orthodontist Tom Barron, who has offices in Baltimore and Baltimore County. "It's not just a city or a suburban phenomenon. It's everywhere." Mary Barbera, a 38-year-old calligrapher and mother of four from Columbia, recalls that when she wore braces 25 years ago, "I thought I looked really gross. I wouldn't smile for pictures or anything." Classmates called her "metal mouth." How times have changed. Her eldest child, 12-year-old Marietta, got braces in October. "I wish I could have gotten them earlier," the seventh-grader said. "I thought they'd be exciting and fun." Her first color scheme? "Red and blue," she said, "so it looked like the American flag in my mouth. Everybody said I looked very patriotic." Partly because of this new attitude toward braces, more Americans are wearing them today than ever before, according to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) in St. Louis. Also, orthodontists say, braces now are more comfortable, less conspicuous and more affordable, given that insurance companies often pay some of the cost -- an average $3,450 usually spread over two years. The AAO estimates that more than 3 million U.S. residents now wear braces or retainers, compared with about 2 mil-lion a decade ago. Of the current wearers, three out of four are younger than 18. And Dr. Frederick G. Preis, a Bel Air orthodontist and regional representative of the AAO, estimates that 75 percent of them opt for the colored adornments. "Now we see patients who are disappointed when I tell them they don't need braces," Dr. Preis said. "We see 10-year-olds who say, `Jimmy has braces on. Why can't I have them?' " The main reason they want braces -- other than straight teeth -- is that every four to six weeks at their regular checkup, their orthodontist can put on different colored ties at no additional cost. They choose ties to match school colors, clothes or favorite team. But mostly, they match their mouth with the approaching holiday -- red and white at Valentine's Day, orange and black at Halloween and, of course, colors of choice at this festive time of year. Groundhog Day a dilemma "I don't know what they choose for Groundhog Day," said a grinning Dr. Preis. Providing patients, particularly teen-agers, a say in their treatment makes for a more contented and cooperative patient, Dr. Preis said. But patient participation does not stop with braces. After the braces come off, patients can order custom-designed retainers -- removeable acrylic devices that stick to the palate and also help straighten teeth. And here, things get really wild. How does a retainer with a pink pig strike you? Not your taste? Then try Batman, a bunny, teddy bear, zebra stripes, troll, football helmet, silhouette of a face, sunflower, bumblebee, peace sign or palm tree and flamingo. Some retainers even glow in the dark. Parents love these. They can peek into Johnny's mouth at night and tell right away whether he's wearing his retainer. Adults also succumb And it's not only children who wear weird things on the roof of their mouth. Sam Dickson, 44, is head of the mosquito control agency in Salt Lake City. His wife and his orthodontist conspired to order him a customized retainer. It features the picture of a mosquito -- specifically, an Aedes niphadopsis, which exists only from Utah to California. The retainer has brought Mr. Dickson a degree of local fame. "I've got neighbors who don't know what I do for living but know what I've got in my mouth," Mr. Dickson said in a telephone interview. But in most cases, wacky retainers and colorful braces are for kids. Ali McDonough, 9, and Kristen Lewis, 12, -- who both live in Columbia -- have their red-and-green elastic ties for Christmas. But the road to Christmas was rocky, as they experimented with various colors throughout the year -- especially Ali. The ties on her braces were black and orange, blue and white, pink and purple, purple and turquoise, and back and white. Dirt-bike colors She hated black and white. "The black looked horrible," she said. But one child's poison is another child's passion. Dan Gonce, 12, of Fallston had his orthodontist put on black ties. "I really don't like being too tacky with different wild colors -- like for holidays and stuff," Dan said. "I'm more interested in dirt bikes." Dirt bikes? "Yeah, I'd rather go with dirt-bike colors," he said. "Like a Kawasaki, maybe that would be green." Like most parents, Dan's mother, Diane Cooper, doesn't care what color braces he wears, as long as his teeth become straight. Ms. Cooper, 34, a secretary for the Harford County school system, knows the importance of straight teeth. Bus stop serenade Before she got braces 20 years ago -- she was Diane Rode then -- her neighbors at the bus stop used to sing, to the melody of a popular rock song at the time: "Diane Rode was a bullfrog; she was no friend of mine. Never understood a single word she said, 'cause her teeth stuck out so far." But young Diane wore her bulky braces for 18 months, put up with the taunts of "railroad mouth" and ended up with the best teeth in her neighborhood. And now, unaware of all that suffering, her son is actually enjoying the experience. "He couldn't wait to get those braces on," Ms. Cooper said. "Everybody else had them, so he had to have them, too." CAPTION: PHOTO KENNETH K. LAM : SUN STAFF PHOTOS Grin and share it: For children with braces celebrating Christmas, green and red elastic ties are the colors of choice. At bottom, Marietta Barbera, 12, (left), Kristen Lewis, 12, and Ali McDonough, 9, all of Columbia, make fashion statements. COLOR PHOTO KENNETH K. LAM : SUN STAFF PHOTOS SAME AS PHOTO 1 Copyright The Baltimore Sun 1995 DESCRIPTORS: MARYLAND