Basics

[newmetal]

Hey peeps!
Not long untill im braced and a fully fledged member of archwired. I just have a few queries which centre around the whole process of the brace fitting. What happens on the actual day...Who carrys out the bracing?Ortho or dental nurse?etc etc

[Smiley77]

Mine took around an hour, but the assistant did it, not the ortho.

[newmetal]

I know these are minor questions, but do they give you anything to watch or listen to whilst bracing you?Also what happens once the brace has been fitted, do they make you wait or let you out of the chair straight away?

[Betty Bat]

Mine took about an hour also. The brackets were applied by an assistant, then the ortho came and checked them out to make sure that everything was OK. Then the wire was put in.

Whether you get anything to watch or listen to while it's being done would probably be a local option by your ortho. I didn't get anything, but there was so much activity around my mouth that I probably wouldn't have been able to look at a screen anyway! The only time when there wasn't something going on was while the bracket adhesive was curing under a special lamp of some kind.

And, I was up and out of the chair when it was done - no sitting around.

[Lisa65]

My bottoms took about 20 minutes. I haven't got the tops on yet. My ortho did it himself. He does all the work, his assistant just handed him the ligs and wires etc as he asked for them.

I had my eyes shut anyway (because I don't feel comfortable with people in such close proximity to me) and I had on the dark glasses he offers to his patients so they don't get dazzled by the over head light.
While he was fitting the brace he was telling me stuff about what not to eat, to use the wax and take painkillers if necessary etc etc and once it was done I was out of the chair within a couple of minutes.
I guess you could always take an iPOD to listen to if you felt you needed distracting.

[Tin Indian]

Went in to get xrays and moulds at 8.00am ,then at 8.45am did the finance part,at 9.00am the assitant prepped my teeth and then the assistant placed the brackets on top then the ortho came and checked them and the the same happened on the bottom, then came the wires and I was done at 10.15am. Hope this helps.
Tin Indian-over and out

[Dramagyrl]

Mine was just over an hour.
Ortho did the brackets. Took a bit to get some of my brackets to hold, they kept popping off.
For the most part, both were really good about telling me what they were doing and what to expect from life in braces. After the brackets were on, they sat my up to relax a minute before doing the archwires. I got to ask questions, got my dental kit to take home and a brochure called Life in Braces (more for teens, but they said the information was more useful to everyone.)
Then the assistant took over the archwires. Talked about what she was doing and all the fun things to do with colours. Told me what life was like for her in braces and praised my ortho, telling me what I can expect from him during treatment or if I need to come in for an emergency.
Then my ortho came back to do a look-over and they sent me on my way.

[bracedforit]

It took around a hour for my braces to be fitted also. The assistant preped my teeth and such. Then the ortho placed the brackets on with the assistant handing him the brackets. After the brackets were placed on my teeth the assistant put the wires and ligs on.
My ortho was nice and let me watch with a mirror what was going on. After everything was done, the assistant went over how to brush and floss properly and told me how to use the wax and the disclosing tablets. After that I was free to go!

[Iccle_Peanut]

Is the assistant fully trained to fit the brace???

I'm not paying for an assistant to fit my brace I hope my ortho will.