Week 53 - Post braces!

Finally finished!

Oh no, I haven’t updated this blog for so long! I honestly didn’t mean to leave it on a cliffhanger, but work, accommodation problems yadda yadda yadda, got in the way. Incidentally, another fantastic Damon braces blog I follow, Full Metal Panda, also said she stopped updating after a while, and she found it very annoying when other braces bloggers would stop at a crucial moment. Sincere apologies to everyone who reads this who was frustrated at the lack of updates! On a side note, because this post will be so long, I’ve decided to answer the questions of Miyuki Yuki and Laura Murdock on the FAQ page – and thank you so much for your comments, I really appreciate them and hope to help however I can.

So as you can see from the pictures – they are finally off!

My last appointment was a while ago – March – and I’d 90% decided that that was the day they were coming off, whether they were 100% finished or not. What I planned to do was to ask the orthodontist what she thought but when I said I really wanted them off, I didn’t have a chance to finish before she replied “Ok, let’s have a look” and started clipped them off right away. It was a little late to protest, but I was very happy afterwards.

So if you’re interested in the process, first of all, they took out the wires and clipped off the brackets. The top teeth were not so uncomfortable but the bottom teeth really felt the pinch. However, it was nowhere near as painful as I’d anticipated.

They then filed away the glue that had held the brackets to my teeth, and polished them so that they were all smooth again. Although in my second to last appointment they had made an impression of my teeth for the retainers, they made another. As I type this, I’m wondering why they did that. Perhaps one impression was for the bonded retainer, one was for the plastic retainers (?).

Bonded retainers on upper teeth

Which brings me to the retainers. My second to last appointment I’d been worrying about them. I didn’t want bonded retainers (permanent retainers that are attached to the back of the teeth) because I worried my speech would be affected but I was told that they are the best because the teeth can move very quickly after the braces, and also that your mouth quickly gets used to them and that it wouldn't be a problem.

Bonded retainers on lower teeth

But after having the braces off, I got another surprise – not only do I have a bonded retainer, but I also have to wear a retainer at night for a year. These are the Essix retainers – the retainers similar to Invisalign.

My orthodontist had to post the braces to me in England, so I didn't wear them for the first week and a half. I was pretty shocked to notice that my teeth had already moved, if only just a little bit. Wearing the retainers at night was a struggle at first.

Essix retainers

Squeamish people can stop reading here, but the top tray fills with saliva and it feels very uncomfortable at first. But like with the elastics at night, l got used to it, although I had to wear them in the daytime for a week before the feeling was comfortable. Now it’s rarely a problem wearing them, although sometimes when I have trouble falling asleep (usually because of other worries) I am conscious of them and take them out so I feel even more comfortable.

Next update: Life after braces (it will be soon, I promise!)