Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi,
The brackets are glued on so well, how does the dentist remove the brackets? Is it painful?

I've heard that they have a tool that separates the glue from the bracket, and then they grind the glue off. Most people say it doesn't hurt.

Oh ok thanks.

I just had 2 brackets removed to have some extractions and they had them off in no time. They did a bit of grinding to remove the glue, but there was no pain, just the smell of burning glue:)

Removing the brackets doesn't hurt that much, what bothered me was the removing of the glue.. just since the air was so cold on my teeth. But, to be honest.. it's so awesome to get the brackets off.. it's worth the slight discomfort.

Thanks for that, it's good to hear that it doesn't hurt

It depends on how sensitive your teeth are. some people have them more sensitive, so you might experience some soreness. But I don't think it's anything more serious, at least it wasn't in my case.

I just got mine off today!!!!!

They basically cracked the brackets off. I had the clear ceramic brackets. So they took a plier and popped the bracket off, which basically meant cracking it off. It didn't hurt, but you could feel the bracket breaking.

Then they used a little drill to get the glue off. Didn't hurt, but you could smell the tooth when the drill was taking off the glue and came in contact with the tooth. I've never liked that smell.

Took a little over an hour (including getting fitted for retainers).

No pain, just the discomfort of having these brackets, which had been glued on for 20 months for me, being pulled off.

Wow some great info there. Many thanks for sharing your experience.

Ceramic and metal brackets are removed slightly differently, but it is the same principle. A bracket removing plier is used to separate the bracket from the glue, during which you will hear a cracking noise. Do not worry about this, because it is the glue interface rather than the tooth.

There will be remaining glue on the teeth that can be removed either with a plier or a handpiece with a bur. Typically, it creates more dust but is more comfortable with the bur.

Overall it is a pretty comfortable process and the teeth should not be overly sensitive.

Dr. Tam, does any enamel get removed by the bur? I've had a number of ceramic brackets repositioned and agree that it's a quick and painless process.

I got mine off last week and they were just sort of popped off using a tool like pliers. I was a bit apprehensive but it wasn't painful. I got some teeth re-shaped slightly at the same time and all of the glue removed and it was fine too! ps I'm scared of the dentist so I was expecting the worst. Hehe. : )

does not hurt but is a little uncomportable.

I'm getting mine off in 6 weeks, first christmas present this year, glad to hear it doesn't hurt too much. I just had my last appt a few days ago and my teeth still feel a little loose(kinda like they aren't quite seated-might be the last powerchain) so I'm hoping that goes away in the next few weeks. How long before your teeth felt normalish I'm doing the de banding and retainer on the same day due to time contstraints.