I posted this under my braces story, but thought I would post it here too. I finally got my braces off this morning after 14 months! Here is the story:
I went in this morning at 8:30am. The assistant proceeded to 'snap' off my brackets with a special tool. This hurt a little bit, especially on some teeth that were particularly sensitive, but overall it just felt like a lot of pressure.
Then the ortho came in and started to shave all of the glue/cement off of my teeth. This wasn't exactly enjoyable, but not painful. It was kind of like getting a regular cleaning at the dentist...lots of things poking into your mouth, but not a huge deal.
Then I had to get bonding done on two of my top front teeth (each tooth beside my front teeth). This took awhile as the ortho put the special etching liquid on (which smelled/tasted gross!), then the bonding material, then zapped it all with a blue light.
After this was done, he bonded my permanent upper and lower retainers to the backs of my 4 front teeth. This was a relatively simple process too, not painful at all.
After this, the assistant came in and made upper and lower impressions/molds of my teeth to send off for my retainer, which will be available in 2-3 weeks, and which I will only be wearing at night.
Then they took some pictures, and I was on my way!
I would say the most annoying thing about the experience was having my mouth open for so long, with various instruments coming in and out of it! I was there for around 2 hours, which was a long time! I have been staring at my teeth all day...I can't seem to pull myself away from the mirror!
Overall, I am happy with the results. I definitely need to do some whitening, as a couple of my teeth are particularly yellow. I bought some Crest Whitestrips Premium Plus today, so let the whitening begin!
I also feel like my teeth look HUGE! I haven't quite gotten used to smiling properly. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I think things look great, and other times I think I look a little weird. I think it's just going to take me awhile to get used to myself with these great big arches! It's also interesting how my profile has changed, which you will see in the next set of pictures.
Now for the pictures!
Here are a bunch of before and after pictures that my ortho printed out for me--the pics aren't great quality, but you'll get the idea (click on the thumbnail to make it bigger):
And here are some of my own pictures:
BITE BEFORE:
BITE AFTER:
TOP BEFORE:
TOP AFTER:
BOTTOM BEFORE:
BOTTOM AFTER:
SMILE BEFORE:
SMILE AFTER:
This has been a crazy process, sometimes very depressing and frustrating (with a few tears shed here and there!). However, like many others, I must say that it was all worth it in the end. I now have a set of beautiful, and most importantly, healthy teeth. I will keep everyone posted on how things go with my retainer!
CONGRATS!
