DIY Belivable Costume Braces.

After scrounging online, my friend [who I use in this tutorial], and I weren't able to find how to make believable, yet at all, safe, braces for her costume, or even find ones that were affordable, believable and custom fit, so we took it upon ourselves to figure out a way to create fake braces for her costume this year.

This tutorial, is actually pretty easy but it does take some time and effort, but it's completely worth it because not only is it sturdy but reusable for whenever you might need them to take a costume to the next level!

 What you will need:
Scarecrow brand vampire teeth, the shortest ones [specifically this brand because it comes with plaster, which is important to the braces]
26 gauge wire
Earring backings, 'butterfly' earring backs
Orthodontic wax, which you can usually find at drugstores
Sandpaper or file [not pictured]
Wire cutters [not pictured]

Let's get started!

1. Put the vampire teeth on the specified teeth, do not fit them yet, and eyeball how much you need to file the teeth down.

2.Use the sandpaper or a file to file the vampire teeth down as much as you need.

3. Follow the instructions, and fit the teeth.

4. KEEP THE LEFTOVER PLASTER, you will be using it later.

5. Use wire cutters and cut two long pieces of wire, with a bit of give... We didn't measure but eyeballing it, roughly between 6 and 10 inches, just to be safe.

6.Take one wire and 's' it though a bracket, pictured below.

 7. Take the second wire and 's' it the opposite way.

 8. Secure the bracket by twisting the ends of the wire a few times, pictured below.

 9. Repeat with the other earring backs to create more brackets. You will need a bracket for the two vampire teeth and the teeth in between.  [we only needed 6 brackets in total]
         -for note:
              Before doing the next bracket, check in the mirror with your wire and first earring back against your teeth and guesstimate where the next earring backing needs to be placed on the wire so your brackets are as well aligned as they can be. Repeat checking between every bracket.

10. Leave about an inch and a half of wire at the end, this will make the braces look like they continue though the whole mouth.

11. Add a bit of orthodontic wax onto the end of the wire to protect your mouth against sharp edges.

12. Put on your, now fitted, vampire teeth.

13. Align the brackets and wire to where they should be; a bracket to each tooth and the end brackets should be on your vampire teeth caps.

14. Shape the wires so the brackets lay as close as possible to each tooth, and fit comfortably to the curve of your teeth.

15. Apply a coat of left over plaster to the back of the two end earring backings [brackets]. Make sure the vampire teeth caps are dry and stick the brackets onto the two teeth.

16. Hold the plaster coated brackets in place to your teeth for at least 30 full seconds.

17. Keep the braces in your teeth for 2 minutes. Please keep your lips from covering the teeth and interrupting the brackets setting.

18. Just keep smiling, for those two minutes.

19. YOU ARE DONE.

 You now have a pair of reusable and believable costume braces!

Put in and remove your braces by using the vampire teeth to handle them, since they're the most secure section.

Please do not eat or drink with them on, unless you drink with a straw, otherwise you risk damaging the braces you created.

You can also store them in the case the vampire teeth came from, which is pretty helpful to keep them debris free.

Enjoy your new braces, and I hope this tutorial was helpful to you~
Have a happy and safe Halloween!

<3CarisseIris