International travel 5 days after bonding?

[JACO]

I am currently scheduled for bonding (yikes!) next Monday - ceramic uppers and metal lowers. Five days later (Saturday) I am scheduled to take off on a 3.5-week trip to Indonesia. The advantages of getting them earlier are a) earlier bonding = more likely I will be done in time for my wedding next year, and; b) this will allow me to have the Propel treatment done after my trip but have recovery time before going back to work.

Is this a terrible idea? Should I reschedule my bonding appointment until after my trip? I had braces in high school but kind of forget the pain/eating difficulties in the first week.

[djspeece]

I don't think it is a bad idea at all; just be sure to discuss with your ortho. I had a bracket pop off a crown the day after I was braced, and I have read of others having similar experiences early in their treatment. Also, assuming that you are starting with a round wire (vs. the rectangular one used to move teeth) ask your ortho how to handle a wire that pops out of the back bracket. Many people here have reinserted it themselves; I made a return trip to the ortho. It only happened once, but if it recurred I would have tried to deal with it myself. Also, dentakit.com, the forum "sponsor," has a emergency kit that you might want to consider. I know there are people on the forum who have travelled with braces, so you might want to do some searches and see what you can find (and members that you might want to IM). I've never travelled to Indonesia (Japan and the South Pacific are the closest) but I suspect you'll be able to find excellent food that you can easily chew. Best of luck to you and have a great trip!