How quickly will braces come off after teeth are "perfe

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#1 Post by **VA5** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 8:40 pm

I posted this under another thread and I'm thinking nobody will see it.

How long should all the teeth look PERFECT before they can take the braces off. In other words.. how long do your teeth have to be in a perfect position, with NOTHING left to work on in your mouth (at least to your visible eye) before the braces come off? I was always under the assumption there was a retention phase while in braces, but is it possible to just take them off right after things are done, and retain immediately with only retainers??

#2 Post by **haywire** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:59 am

i wanna see the answer too. from all i know, after the teeth are straight and the bite is good, the ortho keeps the braces on for another 3-4 months to stabilise the result

but, my ortho said that she probably debrace me in november, my teeth are straight for a long time now, but my bite just got fixed recently (i'm in class2 elastics since june)

i'm scared that my teeth will move back after i get debraced

#3 Post by **Donna** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:47 am

I don't know the answer, but my ortho was tinkering with very minor adjustments just 2 weeks before I was debraced. I had to wait a week to get my retainer, and I had no noticeable movement in that time.

#4 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:54 am

I am getting my braces off tomorrow, and there was never a point where my teeth were perfect and they stopped working on things. At my last appointment, they added a powerchain to the bottom because I complained of a gap and I had to continue using with my elastic.

#5 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:58 am

Also, the term "retention phase" refers to when your braces are removed and you are in retainers.

#6 Post by **drrick** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:00 am

you could keep the braces on another 15 years with no change and you would still ned retention. The PDL's wont remodel in a rigid system i.e. brackets and wires. the teeth need to be able to move individually inorder for the PDL to 'tighten' around the roots of the teeth. This is what ret's do. they hold the crown of the tooth in position so the PDL's can tighten down around the root of the teeth.

#7 Post by **fosterp** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:00 pm

Well the term perfect is sort of subjective. If you mean once your ortho says "well they look perfect" I can't imagine they would stay on longer. But if your looking in the mirror and saying "it looks perfect," well that not might be the case in the eyes of your otho. They probably see a lot of things that we don't.

#8 Post by **felicia** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:53 pm

drrick, thank you so much for that information.

#9 Post by **VA5** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:35 pm

fosterp wrote:Well the term perfect is sort of subjective. If you mean once your ortho says "well they look perfect" I can't imagine they would stay on longer. But if your looking in the mirror and saying "it looks perfect," well that not might be the case in the eyes of your otho. They probably see a lot of things that we don't.

Well what I mean is... when the major things are fixed. like, if your teeth need straightening, and that's it, can you have it fully straightened one day, and then remove them right away and just start the retention stage in retainers only or is there any retention period while in braces. Forget all the minor tweaking. Or, in my case, I have gaps on top. Say they are completely closed on Dec 1. And that's all that needs to be done. Can my ortho possibly take my braces off the next day and put me in retainers right away? Or do my braces need to stay on for part of the retention?

I think Dr. Rick sort of answered my question although I don't know what PDL or whatever acronym he used stands for. I think what he meant is that there is no true retention phase in braces b/c your teeth are not able to really firm up the roots until you are out of braces, and that it's okay to take them off as soon as everything looks in place. Correct?

#10 Post by **drrick** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:06 pm

pretty much yes...

http://archwired.com/how_braces_work.htm

#11 Post by **alimommy1** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:59 pm

I'll say from experience that sometimes it may be better to almost over-correct with the braces so that the little bit of relapse that can happen with settling after with retainers doesn't 'hurt' you as much as it would have if things were just 'perfect'... and then the retainers didn't hold the result well. I don't think it's as bad if there's a little bit of shifting, but if your bite changes significantly, it can be a pain.

#12 Post by **haywire** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 4:46 am

drrick wrote:you could keep the braces on another 15 years with no change and you would still ned retention. The PDL's wont remodel in a rigid system i.e. brackets and wires. the teeth need to be able to move individually inorder for the PDL to 'tighten' around the roots of the teeth. This is what ret's do. they hold the crown of the tooth in position so the PDL's can tighten down around the root of the teeth.

then what about bonded retainers?

that's kinda of a rigid system

#13 Post by **VA5** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:38 am

haywire wrote:
drrick wrote:you could keep the braces on another 15 years with no change and you would still ned retention. The PDL's wont remodel in a rigid system i.e. brackets and wires. the teeth need to be able to move individually inorder for the PDL to 'tighten' around the roots of the teeth. This is what ret's do. they hold the crown of the tooth in position so the PDL's can tighten down around the root of the teeth.

then what about bonded retainers? that's kinda of a rigid system

Great question!!! I'm thinking of getting bonded too .. with possibly removables for night.

#14 Post by **drrick** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 9:03 am

Not really.
They are usually either bonded to the canines only -- allowing physiologic movemement of the teeth OR they are made from braided wire wihich again allows physiologic movmement as it is a bit 'flexible'

#15 Post by **VA5** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 3:42 pm

drrick wrote:Not really.
They are usually either bonded to the canines only -- allowing physiologic movemement of the teeth OR they are made from braided wire wihich again allows physiologic movmement as it is a bit 'flexible'

If they are bonded only to the canines, how is that sufficient retention? Should I be getting the removable kind too, to wear at night, along with the bonded retainer? And, do people get the bonded on top and bottom?