Is it OK to remove spacers before appt?

[genoisegurl]

Hi! I have had spacers in for prob. 6 wks now. They were put in there to make space for banding the 2nd molars. My appt. to band is tomorrow. Does anyone know if it is ok to remove the spacers at home right before the appt. so I can thoroughly clean the space/tooth before they band it? I prefer to clean my teeth at home vs. in the ortho's office. Thanks for any advice!

[Kat]

Ummm NO!

Tell them just before they take them out you want to go brush and floss before the banding. They will want you to anyway.

Let them be in charge of your treatment.

[cosmicgirl]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I wouldn't advise it! It's a job best left to the professionals. Much as I wanted to tear my spacers out I wouldn't have had the first clue as to how to go about it. They are jammed in VERY tightly!
The ortho will give you a quick scrub anyway before all the metal work goes on.
Good Luck!

[platinum]

I had a teeth cleaning on the same day as they put my braces on. First I went to my ortho and they took spacers off. Then I went to my dentist and had teeth cleaning. And after that my molars were banded.

[Delag]

I was forever popping my spacers in and out when I had them. Of course they were loose enough that I could do it. I hated the idea of all that food stuck in them, so I would pop them out after meals and then squish them back in

[Chris1960]

My spacers fell out without me knowing. When I got to the ortho they didn't seem to be too worried about it. They just glued a bracket on instead of using a band. I thought that was strange. Why make me come in to have spacers put in and then wait for 2 weeks, if it was not necessary in the first place.

[breda206]

I did the exact same thing Delag! I don't feel so bad anymore!

[Miss Smiley]

My ortho's office told me that if my spacer were to "fall out" the day before, not to be concerned. The assistant also showed me how to get it back in if I happened to eat something sticky and it fell out.

[thenumber12]

i had no clue anyone kept spacers on for 6 whole weeks! i wouldn't advise you to take them out because that's what i did and my ortho was disappointed in me. I had to keep mine on for a week but it was so painful that i took them out on the 3rd day and they didn't want to delay the process so they ended up cramming them into the small gaps i had

[ellebee]

My spacer popped/broke 3 times within the week. I was back at the Ortho 4 times in 8 days. The 4th time the assistant showed me how to floss the spacer back in. I wish someone had showed me the first time!

The next week when I got my brackets I was back 3 times because my upper central incispr brackets popped off (separately). I have veneers on those teeth because I fractured them roller skating as a child and the assistant used the wrong etchant on them.

Since then it has mostly been steady as she blows, although recently I made a mistake and showed up a week early for my appointment. They worked me in thank goodness as I had to take off from work to get there.

I say, if the spacers come out easily, no harm in removing them the night before. Just my opinion.

Elle

[Colorfullkid]

HELP! I just got my top braces and 3 spacers on the bottom today. I just pulled out one of my spacers and I tried to floss it back in and now my gums are bleeding!
Why am I such an idiot?!

[djspeece]

HELP! I just got my top braces and 3 spacers on the bottom today. I just pulled out one of my spacers and I tried to floss it back in and now my gums are bleeding!
Why am I such an idiot?!

Don't be too hard on yourself. I wrote the book on idiotic things, and consider myself somewhat of an authority on what not to do, based of course on my own experience (not limited to orthodontics, of course) . Give your ortho a call and see what he/she wants to do, if anything. That's why they get the big bucks. Best of luck to you!