I will get debraced soon....

[Anna5]

Hello!

I just want to share with you all that I will be debraced soon!
At my ortho appointment last week my ortho said that my teeth are ready to get debraced. They are definitely not perfect, but this is all he can do with braces. And from where I started it is a huge improvement, I think you would all agree....

I have the option to get debraced next Monday! (the 4th of August). However, my ortho is on holidays then, which means that on this day my teeth won't be shaved to make them more even (top and bottom teeth are not all the same length), because my ortho wants to do this himselves. The other option is to postphone the debracing till September when my ortho is back, get my braces off and shaved in one appointment. What would you do if you had the choice? My ortho didn't make any adjustment to my braces anymore, the braces are only there to stabilise the result (like a retainer).

On the one side, I am very happy that my journey is coming to an end. I am looking forward to having naked teeth again and not feeling self conscious about the braces anymore. It has been a very emotional journey for me and I am happy with the great improvement my teeth have made. The improvement is beyond the expections of my ortho.

On the other side, I am also feel fear to get debanded. Will I be ever really happy with my teeth? Or will my imperfections (small upper jaw, a bit of a canted smile) keep bugging me and keep making me feel self conscious for as long as I live? Will I always remain a bit angry at myself for refusing SARPE/jaw surgery at the beginning of my treatment (which would have probably have given me a better result). I really hope I can find peace with myself, I think I have done what I could do (I couldn't cope with surgery emotionally and had no support network for this). Will I ever heal from BDD which I have been diagnosed with?

I am also a bit afraid that my teeth will shift back. I will only get a bonded retainer behind my 6 front and 6 bottom teeth. My ortho thinks that is enough, but I am not sure.....

Anyway, mixed feelings from hapiness to anxiety from gratitude to hopelly peace..... Here are some pictures of my smile, before treatment, and some pictures from the last stages of my treatment. This will be the smile I will be showing to the world, not perfect, but hopefully filled with real joy and hapiness!

I want to thank you all very sincerely for all the loving support I received from you here on this forum, without you all here I am sure I couldn't have made it through this journey.... I love you all!

Anna

[jaime]

Wooooooooooo!

If I was you, I'd want those puppies off ASAP and worry about the shaving later.

Your teeth look beautiful! I don't notice any of the things you're self-conscious about. And hey, I had SARPE and my upper jaw is still a little narrow in my eyes, despite it now matching the width of my lower jaw.

I never even knew what a canted smile was until I read your posts and looked it up in a dictionary. I don't see it in your photos. It is something only you will notice.

I hope you will find peace with your smile. Nothing in life is ever perfect, and it is unreasonable to seek perfection. Who knows, maybe you would have gotten jaw surgery and developed a complication, or later had an accident and your teeth were damaged. No use in depressing yourself with "what if"s. Maybe once the braces are off and some time has passed, you'll be happy with how things look. I would love to have your beautiful smile!

Congrats on the imminent debracing!!!

[Siobhan]

Anna,

I think your teeth look lovely and and agree with jaime that I don't see the things that bother you. I see a lovely wide smile with beautiful teeth. I wish you best of luck with your debracing.

Congratulations.

[pjade1]

Very cool for you! I know my teeth will be uneven at the bottom too when it's all done but I am planning on some crowns with my dentist. I may have them shave them even until then like you too. I am so happy that you have a lovely smile that you can see soon.

[Mightymildred]

Wow!
Your teeth look amazing! I'd be so tempted to go for a debrace ASAP.
Good luck.
I'm sooooooo envious! BUT also very happy for you.
MM

[TheKT]

Anna, seriously, your teeth look amazing. Get those babies off ASAP and enjoy your beautiful teeth and smile. I agree with the others and don't see the imperfections you state. They are so awesome...rejoice and enjoy.

[TMJJill]

I got my braces off last year. I'd be tempted to wait until your Orthodontist is available. It would give me piece of mind. I'd also want the Orthodontist who knows me the best to put the retainers on.

As for the canted smile, I had one that was quite pronounced when I started treatment. I'm now much more symmetrical, but still have a bit of a cant. I notice it even more when my neck and jaw muscles get tight. Maybe we just need some regular massages to help us along the way.

Anyway, my treatment gave me a nice bite. The nicer smile is just a plus.

I think you'll be pleased with how nice and straight your teeth are. Have you thought that any 'imperfections' are really just a part of what makes you you?

[Anna5]

Thanks for all your loving and encouraging comments!

Here is another picture of my teeth now. Are they really ready for debracing? I still find it hard to believe!

[parapian]

I think you're ready for debracing!! Good luck and enjoy your new smile without braces!!!

(By the way, I recently met a young woman with a slight off-center midline like yours and, honestly, if I weren't going through this procedure myself, I wouldn't have even noticed it. More importantly, she was very cute and I don't think anyone else was bothered by it. Point is: I hope you're not worried about it anymore, because it's so unnoticeable to the naked eye, and even to those who do notice it, it's not at all unattractive!).

[clearlybracedmomma23]

first of all congratulations on reaching the end of your journey! you must be so unbelievably excited(: to answer your question i would just wait the extra month and have it all done in one appointment. i get the excitement about finally being brace free and wanting to get them taking of asap, normally i would say go or it! but at the same time thirty extra days will go so quickly! you won't have to make two trips to the ortho instead of just one AND most of all that wow factor you've been working toward for so long is going to be much greater getting them off and having the shaving done all at once opposed to just getting them off and then having to wait thirty more days before getting the job completely finished. but thats just me, id say go with whatever your going to be most comfortable with overall!

[Anna5]

Once again, thanks to you all for your loving support! Without you all here on this forum, I would have never coped with this journey. And it gives me good hope that you all think my smile is beautiful!

I have decided to go for the debracing on Monday! (and not wait for another one and a half months till my ortho is back). I just thought it is too awesome to have holiday pictures without braces this year! (I will go on holidays in August). And to eat all the food I want during my holidays! And the braces are doing nothing anymore, except holding everything in places. I will get my bonded retainer straight away on Monday. And then in September, the result will be finished by my ortho doing the shaving. I hope my results will be nice!

[Featheryy1221]

Yay! Congrats! I'm so excited for you!! I cannot wait to see your final result! I think you will really end up loving your smile when all is said and done. Enjoy being brace free on holiday!

[Anna5]

Thanks! Only one weekend to go with my braces on.....
I am nervous and excited!

[Anna5]

To my dear friends here on this forum,

I am not debraced yet. I went to the ortho office for debracing. Then the assistant who was going to debrace me asked: are you happy with your teeth now? Are you sure you want to get debraced now? Once you are debraced, it will be all done and nothing will change anymore. Then I had to cry and said I still often feel bad about my teeth and jaw, that I am very grateful for the great changes the braces have made, but that, honestly, I am not not 100% happy but that the ortho said that these things I am not happy about cannot be fixed, so that I should accept this. Since my ortho was on holidays, the assistant didn't want to debrace me before me first talking to my ortho again when he is back from holidays. I have an appointment on the 16 th of September now, not for a debrace but for a talk.

I feel a bit sad that I am still in braces, but on the other side, I think it was not my time yet to be debraced. I was not emotionally ready for this. Maybe another talk to my ortho will help and a talk to my psychologist to learn to embrace my imperfections, I hope so....

Thank you all for your loving support!

[parapian]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Anna!

I actually came here as soon as I could to see amazing photos of your debraced teeth..

I understand what you mean, though. It's hard to see the procedure as finished when you're not fully happy with the result. On the other hand, maybe you could look at it this way: if you're happier with what your teeth look like now than you did before you started this journey, then surely being debraced won't be such a bad thing.

I honestly hope you'll find the confidence in you to enjoy who you are no matter what you look like. At the end of the day, only superficial people will judge you for how you look. Everyone else will look at who you are. I know it sounds like a cliche, but, damn it, it's true!

And, once again, your teeth look AMAZING! If my teeth looked like that now, I'd be doing cartwheels!