....and they're off!

673 days ago, I started my braces journey, and today marks the end of a phase of that journey. It still feels a bit surreal that they're off, and that braces will be nothing more than a distant memory, and I definitely do, in a weird way, miss having braces, but all in all, what a journey it's been. Some ups (seeing all those changes was a highlight), some downs (feeling said changes, and the procedures done to manipulate teeth into those changes were not so fun), some detours and turns, but finally, I ended up where I needed to be, and today was the big day to get them off.

I'd have to say that braces were definitely a worthwhile investment, but not for the faint of heart. You have to go into braces mentally and physically prepared, and not something one should do on a whim...thought that's more or less what I did. I always wanted straight teeth, and then two years ago, I decided that then was a good time as any to do something about making my teeth straighter, and without really doing much research, I dived head first into the wonderful (and sometimes wacky) world of orthodontia. Heck, I didn't even do more than one consult. I went with the one that my dental office referred me to, and 22 months later, here I am. I definitely would recommend doing research if one is considering undergoing orthodontia, and it is probably more beneficial to go to more than one consult before deciding on an orthodontist and a treatment plan. I got lucky as everything worked out just fine, and I liked my orthodontist and the office staff. I've had no issues with my treatment whatsoever, and the staff were great at answering my questions, as was the orthodontist in explaining things when I asked. My estimate was 18-24 months, and I got them off just a day over the 22 month mark, and my result was pretty much what I wanted and then some, so I genuinely have no complaints. I know some people aren't as lucky as me, so I am grateful that things worked out beautifully for me.

Now onto today's removal appointment...

The appointment started off bright and early at 0840 in the morning (I really am not a morning person, but the only other slot they had for removal today was 0730, and no way was I waking up that early.) Even though the receptionist told me that the office was running on time today, I wasn't called in until 0900. So I'm pretty sure they weren't running on time. Maybe not running late, but definitely not on time. Got seated in the chair, and after I confirmed with the tech that I was, indeed, happy with everything and did not want any more tweaks and changes, the orthodontist came over to check on my teeth and bite one last time. He declared me good for debracing! So this was it, and there was no going back.

The tech put in the permanent retainers first before complete removal of the brackets. She loosened the brackets of my upper and lower front four teeth (I think. It might have been canine to canine, I wasn't sure), and cemented the permanent retainer on the lingual side of my "social six" teeth on both arches. The placement process seemed pretty involved, and if I had to guess, it probably took a good 10-15 minutes to apply both upper and lower permanent retainer. The glue solution tasted horrible as I accidentally let my tongue touch the glue. Would definitely not recommend. Then once the permanent retainers were in, it was time to removal the brackets.

The tech didn't take out the archwire or powerchains prior to removing the brackets. She removed the brackets with the archwire and powerchains intact.. It looked pretty cool when she took the whole thing off, and I got to look at what the brackets and archwires and powerchains looked like when they're not being attached to my teeth. Removing the brackets didn't really hurt. It was uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt..more like a pinch to the teeth when the brackets were pried off. I went in without taking any pain meds, and it went just fine. The tech did a good job in prying all the brackets off. Most went off easily, though one ceramic bracket broke and she had a bit of a trouble removing all of it (the orthodontist ended up polishing the rest of that bracket off at the end). Then she polished the glue/cement off....and weirdly enough, my upper left canine hurts like a mofo when she used the polishing thing instead of the burr....so that was really weird. After all the polishing was done, I was told to brush my teeth by the sink.

That first brushing was weird. It was weird seeing my own teeth without any braces. And yes, what people say about your teeth looking "bigger" after braces seems to be true. My teeth looks bigger (especially my top arch), even though I know that's not actually possible. Maybe I just got used to seeing them being covered with braces, and only seeing a small portion of my teeth through the brackets and archwires. It was so nice to be able to brush without the brackets and wires in the way. I almost didn't know how to brush without all the orthodontic appliances in the way!

X-Rays and photos were taken, and then the orthodontist came by to reshape one my bottom central incisor, as I had requested for that when he came to inspect my teeth. After that was done, impressions for retainers were made, and I got sent to brush my teeth again before going to the waiting room to wait while my retainers were being made. I waited about an hour before my name was called again to pick up my retainers. The retainers are the clear kind, and the tech had me try them on, and gave me instructions on how often to wear the retainers, how to take care of them, and general information on the use of retainers. I also got a goodie bag from them, which basically was a T shirt and a water bottle. After making my retainer check appointment and confirming that I would be getting whitening done at that appointment, I was free.

All that took about 3 hours, so I do understand why they made removal an early morning slot thing. But still, it was too damn early for me. But I guess for braces removal, it was definitely worth it!

For the removal retainers, the official instructions I got was to wear them nightly every day for the first year, then every other night, and gradually transition to two to three nights a week. I am not actually going to follow the official instructions that I was given. I'm going to wear my retainers basically whenever I'm home for longer stretches of time. I won't wear them to work or out, because talking with them in is a lisp fest, and I have no intentions of lisping when I don't need to, but I will definitely wear them more than the 8-12 hours a night thing that I'm advised to do. I just spent close to $3800 on straightening my teeth and correcting my bite...I'm going to retain my teeth the best way that I can.

Retainers....well they're definitely different than braces. I don't know if I necessarily like them, but I'm sure I'll get used to them. I can't talk properly with them in, and they just feel bulky in my mouth...in a different way than braces felt. My teeth don't touch each other while in retainers, and that feels a bit weird. It's a bit like having bite blocks again. Putting them on is fairly easy, and I'm working on getting the removal down pat. It's a work in progress, but it's only my first real day with them, so I'm sure they'll get better. But all in all, retainers are working out okay so far. Too early to tell right now, but as all things orthodontia, I too, will get used to retainers.

It feels weird without braces on, and it feels odd to be able to eat whatever I want with no repercussion. I don't need to special prepare food in a way to accommodate for the braces, and I don't need to make a trip to the bathroom to clean my teeth after every meal. It's weird knowing that it's impossible for food to get stuck on my teeth now, whereas before, I knew that no matter how careful I am, food will get stuck on the wire and brackets, and swishing with water and cleaning was a must after eating.

But I am officially braces free now, and that's an achievement of a milestone of sort.

Before. Just looking at this made me realize how far I've come, and just how many changes happened to make my teeth and bite the way they are today

After 22 months of braces. My new smile! Everything looks much, much better than before. It's no Hollywood perfect smile, but it's perfect enough for me.

Retainers

Bye bye elastics! No more ever again!