Metal Mouth Message Board

I am thinking about removing my braces early. I am near the end of my treatment and teeth look as straight as I would like them. My ortho is simply trying to "up my wires" Ive had braces for about 16 months. I would like advice from anyone who is/was in the same situation

I would keep them on until your ortho says you're finished. You've been in them for 16 months already and have probably spent plenty of money on them, so I would stick it out and finish treatment.

Agreed. Stick it out. If you take them off before you should, they could relapse because of a not-quite-stable bite, and then you will lose even the 16 months you did do.

The ortho doesn't want you braces any longer than necessary either. After all, every adjustment takes up valuable chair time and not earning him/her any additional money.

Yes; most of the visible "wow!" progress often occurs early on, but the later, more subtle, changes are quite important for a stable and healthy bite for the rest of your life. If your ortho is "upping your wires" that probably means he is putting in stiffer/larger rectangular wires. The earlier wires put your teeth in a nice, neat, row, and these wires make them upright. If your teeth are not pointed at the correct angle, there could be swift relapse and/or long-term damage to your bones and gums.

It's not real visible at all, but these changes are important.