Metal Mouth Message Board

hi!

i am scheduled to be debraced on saturday. i'm so excited! however, i'm a little apprehensive about the potential pain and discomfort involved. i have ceramic uppers and metal lowers with upper and lower molar bands. i have heard that removal of the ceramic brackets is somewhat uncomfortable. how bad is it? also, it seems that it will be a struggle to remove the molar bands and that discomfort has me worried the most. how do they get them off?

did you experience a lot of pain and discomfort afterwards (i.e. were you able to eat that day/night)? should i take a few ibuprofen before the appointment or is it generally not that bad?

any suggestions?

yay! 22 months and done!

also, how many of you went in to get debraced and the ortho changed his mind? they called to tell me that my retainers have arrived but i'm afraid it won't happen. i'm sure this is normal.

thanks.

I'm curious too!! I'd like to hear from someone who had both metal and ceramic removed. My ortho said metal "gives" and pops off relatively easy where ceramic doesn't bend so it is more of a challenge.

I still have my braces but have had metal, ceramic (inspire ice) and molar bands all removed and repositioned so know what it is like. Personally I did not find the clear brackets any more or less difficult to remove than the metal. The molar bands pop right off so no issues there either. But my ortho did say that they switched to the Inspire Ice brand of clear bracket b/c of their relative ease of removal, so if you have a different brand your experience may be different.

Yes I would take two ibuprofen before your appointment. That way the medicine is in your system and working before any pain has a chance to kick in. For the first few days it also helps to pop two about a half hour before eating as this will reduce pain with chewing.

As for discomfort, everyone is different. My mouth was very sore the first few days but that tapered off dramatically and I'd say that by the end of a week my tooth pain had minimized. Your braces will be rubbing on your cheeks and tongue so expect some raw areas. Wax helps dramatically.

Don't baby your mouth too much. Chew as much as you can. Helps with blood circulation which ultimately reduces the time you are in pain.

Congratulations on beginning your treatment!

Oh yes! I do remember that about Inspire ICE. That's what I have and I remember my ortho saying that the company designed a special removal tool.

The most important thing to do before debracing day is buy your doctor a gift

drrick wrote:The most important thing to do before debracing day is buy your doctor a gift

He makes a Doctors income AND I already gave him 6 g's! He should give be giving me a gift!

I still am in braces but have had several brackets and a band removed and repositioned, never felt any pain whatsoever.

Oh dear. Please ignore most of my post. For some bizzare reason I must have read too fast and thought you were getting braces ON. I plead tired. 3 hours of sleep must not be enough after all.
Congradulations on ending your journey!

got debraced last week for the 3rd time felt no pain or discomfort. i didnt feel them coming off or see what tool was used when the upper and lower got taking i thought was that it?

first two times i feel a big crunch even with ceramic and metal it may due to too much glue they took them out with plier-like tools. i can't see how you could be in pain unless the person slips and elbows you or some accident
So three times for me all a breeze, eating no problems

my moulds got taken after polishing, the retainers were ready the next morning to collect

drrick wrote:The most important thing to do before debracing day is buy your doctor a gift

I think the best gift I could ever give my ortho will be my reaction after these braces come off and I am crying with tears of joy becase I am so happy at the great job his expertise has accomplished.

What gift could be better than that???

The first time I had my braces removed back in 1998 I had both ceramic and metal, neither were a problem at all to remove, but the ceramic ones tended to shatter instead pop off.
I did not buy my orthodontist a gift, but that is a whole other story.

Don't worry about it at all, there will not be any pain at all, you will not need any ibuprofin at all. And when you eat for the first time after your debracing, whatch out, it will be the best food you have had in 22 months.

Don't be worried at all, enjoy your new brace free smile and thing of all the people here at AW that will be jelous that you are free.

Snowglobe32 wrote:

drrick wrote:The most important thing to do before debracing day is buy your doctor a gift

I think the best gift I could ever give my ortho will be my reaction after these braces come off and I am crying with tears of joy becase I am so happy at the great job his expertise has accomplished.

What gift could be better than that???

Actually you are 100% correct.
That makes the doc and staff feel VERY, VERY good!!!

I do get other gifts practically every day from my patients too but knowing how happy you are with your new smile is the best gift.

My ortho debands all of her patients ready for debanding on the same morning once a week or month or whatever and has lots of previously taboo goodies waiting for the (mostly) kids - gum, candy, etc. One of her assistants asked me what I will want and marked it in my file. I asked for a large carrot (not one of those slimy baby carrots) and dark chocolate covered caramels. I don't care how much it hurts to deband, I can't wait to crunch on a big fat carrot.