The day my braces came off
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 5:59 pm
HI Everyone,
Yesterday was the big day and I went in to have my braces off at 9:40am. I was very nervous as I have ceramics on my uppers and had read on here that they could be difficult to get off. Well, the lower metal brackets were no problem at all. I hardly even felt the technician pop them off but as I dreaded the ceramics were a whole different matter. They were hard to budge - one came off ok, but the others were a struggle and horror of horrors - no less than 2 broke. I swear I felt like she was going to snap my tooth off and the pain was awful. Thinking about it now makes me feel sick. So there was nothing for it other than to literally grind the two broken brackets off and it took AGES! In all, I think i was in the chair for 1 hour while she cleaned my teeth up and polished them.
Eventually I get to see my new smile and yes it looks beautiful and weird at the same time cos I've never had such straight teeth. So leave the doctors office happy but slightly traumatised by the pain the broken brackets caused me.
I had a few hours of naked teeth freedom and then returned to the ortho at 4pm to have my essix retainer fitted. The tech ran through the basics with me (much of which I already knew from reading this wonderful website) and then she put them in my mouth. I felt like screaming! I had no idea how HARD the retainer would be, nor how bulky it would feel in my mouth. At that moment and knowing full well that I have to wear it 24/7 for some months (I hate to say it) but I wanted to cry. Even when my braces really, really hurt me I never felt like breaking down, but yesterday I came to the realisation that the braces were just one step along the way to perfect, healthy teeth.
The retainer is going to take a lot of getting used to and I know in time I'll take it in my stride, but my teeth are so sore and painful and I feel miserable. I hope the pain wears off this week (it hurts to remove the retainer). I am thankful that I have access to this forum where I can connect with people going through the same thing - it reassures me to know I'm not alone in this.
Thanks for reading my post - if anyone has had similar experiences, feelings I'd like to hear from you.
Yesterday was the big day and I went in to have my braces off at 9:40am. I was very nervous as I have ceramics on my uppers and had read on here that they could be difficult to get off. Well, the lower metal brackets were no problem at all. I hardly even felt the technician pop them off but as I dreaded the ceramics were a whole different matter. They were hard to budge - one came off ok, but the others were a struggle and horror of horrors - no less than 2 broke. I swear I felt like she was going to snap my tooth off and the pain was awful. Thinking about it now makes me feel sick. So there was nothing for it other than to literally grind the two broken brackets off and it took AGES! In all, I think i was in the chair for 1 hour while she cleaned my teeth up and polished them.
Eventually I get to see my new smile and yes it looks beautiful and weird at the same time cos I've never had such straight teeth. So leave the doctors office happy but slightly traumatised by the pain the broken brackets caused me.
I had a few hours of naked teeth freedom and then returned to the ortho at 4pm to have my essix retainer fitted. The tech ran through the basics with me (much of which I already knew from reading this wonderful website) and then she put them in my mouth. I felt like screaming! I had no idea how HARD the retainer would be, nor how bulky it would feel in my mouth. At that moment and knowing full well that I have to wear it 24/7 for some months (I hate to say it) but I wanted to cry. Even when my braces really, really hurt me I never felt like breaking down, but yesterday I came to the realisation that the braces were just one step along the way to perfect, healthy teeth.
The retainer is going to take a lot of getting used to and I know in time I'll take it in my stride, but my teeth are so sore and painful and I feel miserable. I hope the pain wears off this week (it hurts to remove the retainer). I am thankful that I have access to this forum where I can connect with people going through the same thing - it reassures me to know I'm not alone in this.
Thanks for reading my post - if anyone has had similar experiences, feelings I'd like to hear from you.