Metal Mouth Message Board

Just wondering. I was given a time frame of 1 year to fix my crooked front teeth. No problems with my bite and he said I wouldn't need elastics. I will do ceramic on top and metal on the bottom. I know I'm probably being overly optimistic but I'm wondering if it ever takes less than the time they estimate? I know it depends on the circumstances, but, in general I was just curious.Thanks,

Gracie

Gracie-

I saw one person on here (I forgot her name...sorry) who was estimated at 18 mo. then got them off around 11 mo...or 13 mo...something like that. And her teeth looked awesome! I, too, have wondered the same question. I mean, if your teeth move quickly, do they keep the braces on, to hold them in place for the remaining months? Or do they take them off? I'm curious, too!!

I got my braces on (as you may have read) on June 5th, and I'm estimated at 18 mo. (I am not opting for a perfect bite, perfect midlines, etc...that was estimated at 30 mo., so I decided that I just want them much better than they are now...meaning, my bite won't be perfect when I'm done.)

Have a great day!
eagle

My orthodontist told me straight up that 90% of their patients finish within 18-22 months. Yes there will be that 10% that get done faster or slower, but for the most part the timeframe they give you should be accurate.

hi,
i just had my ortho appt today and was told my braces will come off next month! it's only 1 month early, but it's early.
i was told 18 months which would have been august.

i have to say i am a bit, no i am terrified to have them taken off.
i have ceramics on top and bottom. last month he had to replace 3 bottom ceramics due to wear. my god i thought he was going to pull my teeth out! he actually used pliers and twisted them off. ouch!

any personal experiences w/brace removal would be appreciated.

like the saying, be careful what you wish for......

I have heard of several people getting them off earlier than estimated by the orthodontist. Our ortho said that if patients did exactly what they were supposed to do that a lot of treatments would be much shorter. Like one of his patients NOT wearing their elastics as much as possible. That delayed the treatment by a couple of months! I promised to wear my elastics as long as I possibly could.
One thing Ihave noticed is that I have seen tons of people wearing braces that their teeth appeared to be super straight. So I assumed that their treatment was almost finished. I found out that once teeth are moved in right position. It takes several months after for the bone supporting the roots to fill in and keep the roots/teeth in place without moving the teeth back in the wrong position. So that's why we still have to wear retainers for several months after getting the brackets removed.
I still don't have my braces on and crossing my fingers it will be in about 1 week.

Gennel

Me, me, me!!!! I'm going to finish early...



... I hope.

I'm hoping to finish early...haha, I've thought about asking my ortho this question: "If I pay off my balance early, will you be more likely to take them off early?" I don't want to offend him, though!

Actually I thought about that early pay off thing too! My daughter has her braces on for only 1 month and I paid hers off already. Of course I still owe my equity loan! I chose equity loan because the interest rate was way cheaper than the financing available at the ortho's office.

The only advice that I can tell anyone that wants to have their braces off sooner is this : Never miss your appointments! Wear your elastics all the time.It can be easy to take a "break" from anything uncomfortable.

Remember your ortho is giving you an estimated treatment time ,probably acording to similiar cases like yours that he has treated.

My ortho said I would have an estimated treatment of 30 months.This is not 100% . Personally I feel it might be a few months less than that.So far I knew in advance everything he would suggest so that is one major reason why I trust him.

If you trust your ortho (LISTEN to him!) there are a bunch of people that get their braces off like 6 months early!

Gennel

How soon you pay your balance has nothing to do with it. The sooner the ortho finishes your treatment correctly, the sooner he/she can begin a new patient. So keeping you in braces longer than necessary makes no sense. But if he/she cuts you loose too soon, the quality of the results will suffer and that is damaging to the ortho's reputation. There's nothing to be gained by the ortho either way.

BTW, Gennell is right. The best way to get your braces off early or on time is to keep your appointments and strictly follow your ortho's advice. I know two people who are currently still in braces beyond their estimated finish date only because they did not comply with the ortho's instructions.

I got mine off about 5 months early.

I'm getting my braces off on friday, only 12 days short of being 2 years. My original estimated time was 30 months

I don't have a debanding date but I am pretty sure I am getting mine off early.

My original estimate was 10 months, and I am over 1 year now.....

I hate to be the wet blanket...but it is probably more
common for treatment to take **longer** than the
anticipated timetable. Lynn, the person who established
this website, spent one month shy of 3 years in
braces, having been originally told it would take 2.
My original estimate was for 24 months, but after
2 months my ortho called for 4 extractions, and told me to
expect at least 6-9 months longer than the original
estimate. If keeping appointments and following doctors
orders gets me out of these sooner, then you can
bet I will do EXACTLY what he tells me...but more
likely, adults who take longer than anticipated simply
have teeth that move VERY slowly. My ortho keeps
telling me about one of his adult patients who has
been in braces for 3 years and her teeth have barely
moved. That is my utimate nightmare! I try
to be optimistic because the asst. told me my teeth
HAD moved in the first 2 months -just not the way
the ortho was hoping they would w/o extractions!

I have estimated 18-24 months treatment. I have been in braces 10 months. The ortho says I am more than 1/2 done. I am assuming we are going to hit the lower end of the estimate at 18 months.