When should I get them off?

[Lux]

Hi everyone,
So I have a bit of a dilemma.
I’ve been wearing my braces since end of November, 2011… so it’s been about 9 months. (I’m in the 6 month smile braces, and my ortho estimated my case to be about 8-10 months).

The first few months, I saw some MAJOR changes, and they happened pretty fast! But the last 2 months or so I’d say, nothing’s really changed, that I can see. I’m sure my ortho can, cuz he’s an expert lol. (and I’ve been having regular adjustments every 4 weeks)

Yesterday I had an ortho appnt… and my ortho told me they’re basically ready to come off, “whenever I’m ready”.

He said he’ll keep them on for as much longer as I want, because he’ll never “stop seeing things to tweak” but he says they’re basically finished.

He asked me if there’s any “target date” I’d like to aim to have them off by, and I said end of October - as I have a photo shoot coming up at the end of Ocotber.
So he said, ok, let’s aim for end of September then. Everything should be good to go by then.

So here’s the thing – I have been DREAMING about the day I get my braces off… believe me!
BUT – I’m a little hesitant. I mean they look great, but not perfect. I don’t think my teeth could ever look ‘perfect’ because I just don’t have the right SHAPE teeth for them to. I have pointy canines, and my two front teeth are larger than the rest. I mean they’re straight now, but there’s not much you can do about the size of your teeth I guess, lol.
See pic (this was at 7 months… so they do look a little different now, but it looks like this is as good as they’re going to get)::



I'll post a more up-to-date pic later, as I'm 2 extra months further than this pic... I'm just at work right now so I can't!

SO… basically our idea is that we’re going to take them off end of September, but how will I know if they’re ready?

How do I know if I’m making the right decision? What if I get them off, and then decide oh I could’ve lasted another month, maybe this tooth should have been rotated a little more, etc etc…
Has anyone else had their ortho tell them they can come off when you're ready?

Help!!

[sweetcynic]

Only you can decide. Your teeth look good in the photo, maybe not perfect, but waaayyyyy better than mine do. Then again, I thought that 6 month smiles' whole point was to achieve improvement and not perfection(perfection is more the longer, more expensive treatment plans, unless your case was very minor to beging with). I can't do 6 month smiles due to bite and molar uprighting issues, but I'd consider it if my teeth just had to be straightened.

[Kipepeo]

Hi Lux. I'm probably the only patient in history that came in for two separate debanding appointments, only to decide it was not yet time. The first time he felt there was still work to be done, and I agreed. The 2nd time it was I who knew it was not time since my bite was still off.

The 2nd one ended up with me getting upper braces in addition to my lowers, essentially drawing out my treatment another year or two. I wish it hadn't gone this way. My whole treatment has gone like this, starting with me just wanting to rotate one tooth.

So, I accepted that fact that in order to get what I really want, I have to accept the hardship that is time and discomfort in braces.

My ortho would take them off if I wanted them off. I'm sure he's ready for me to be off the schedules! But I'm not ready now!

[deeley]

Hi I have the exact same dilemma...six month smils. Told 8 months, am 4 month in and he says my teeth are done!!!!!
Have appt this week not sure whether he'll want to take them off or tweak them further.

[Lux]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.
As I said, I would upload a more recent pic of my teeth (the one in the post up there ^ is at 7 months.. I'm currently at 9 months)

here is a pic the day before i got them, and the 9 month pic I took yesterday. I think there's been a massive improvement!



I mean I think they look pretty good? They need to be whitened though! Ha ha. Which I will do ASAP! I think my top teeth look great, he polished my two front teeth at my last appointment which I felt made a big improvement... the bottoms still need a tiny bit of work I'd say... which is why I'm willing to leave them on til end of September. What do you think?

[auco99]

Wow, they really look great. You have a beautiful smile. Congrats on your progress!

[TMJJill]

Your teeth are looking great. You've made tons of progress.

How does your bite feel? For me that will be an important part of my determination for when mine come off.

[BellaBraces]

Looking really good!

From the pic it looks like the lower archwire still has a bit of a kink in it on the left hand side at least (your left, right in the picture) so a bit more movement may be needed there.

[Lux]

Thank you everyone for the encouragement. I'm so excited to get them off. The only thing I'm really nervous about is the de-brace day.. I mean I'm just nervous it's going to hurt but even if it does, it will be worth it! T-minus 1 month!!!

[fosterp]

Regarding the comment about not having the right teeth shape, re: canines and long incisors - your ortho can actually shape your teeth into a more aesthetic form. When I was banded my ortho basically contoured all of my front teeth to make the edges nicely shaped, as well as making the canines softer - and throughout my treatment he has taken some length off of my incisors. So if you don't like the shape of your teeth it is worth asking about. I think my signature still has some pictures - the pre-brace photo has disappeared but you can still see a change in the length of my upper incisors through the progress photos.

[BraceFace2o1o]

I think your teeth look perfect. A great change from your before. If it's a case of being unsure of the tooth shape then braces can only do so much with leveling etc so maybe some shaping once the braces are off could make you feel better like fosterp mentions.

Whitening? I think your teeth are also lovely and white too!

[Lux]

I think your teeth look perfect. A great change from your before. If it's a case of being unsure of the tooth shape then braces can only do so much with leveling etc so maybe some shaping once the braces are off could make you feel better like fosterp mentions.

Whitening? I think your teeth are also lovely and white too!

Wow, thank you so much for the compliments!
I'm a little concerned about the bottom row still, my two middle teeth on the bottom row seem to be a TINY bit crooked/slight overlap still. I have another ortho apnt Sept 6th...I'm going to talk to him about this at that time and see if there's anything he can do to get those two teeth straightened up asap, so that we can stick to my planned debrace date of end-September. Maybe some inter-proxial filing (or whatever its called) and a power chain? I dunno, he's the dentist not me, so hopefully he'll be able to get that last tiny problem corrected quickly!! Fingers crossed!!!

[bcatron]

I think your teeth look great!!

[mbnz230]

they look great, time to take them off and be done.

[kreyFL]

At least your ortho is honest - there will always be things to tweak. However, you will regret if you take them off before you feel they are as perfect as you want them to be. Any thing you see now that is just "okay" will probably bug the crap out of you once you get them off. Just trying to offer a different prospective from the other posters. I do think your teeth look beautiful, and I am quite jealous that they look THAT great so quickly However, you are the one that has to be able to say - "Yes my teeth are beautiful and I am happy!"