Jennii

I said I'd post my deband story, so here it is

I was really nervous for a few days before my debanding because I thought my orthodontist wouldn't let me get them off and I didn't want to get my hopes up. That nervousness grew when I realized my ortho's office door was locked. I was worried for a second, but a staff member opened the door. They were just off of lunch break so they had their doors locked. Pretty much as soon as I sat down in the waiting room, I was called back. The assistant started laying debanding pliers out on the tray which confirmed that today was the day in my head.

My orthodontist walked in to check things out. He seemed to approve, but he proceeded to tell me that we'd make a deband appointment for two weeks later. I was devastated, but it turned out that he didn't know and the assistant there though he was playing a joke and just played along for a couple minutes.

The actual process of taking my braces off was rather fast. It only took maybe 3 minutes to get all of the bands and brackets off and about 15 minutes to get the glue off. he used a spinning bur and about 5 round rubber heads to take off the composite. Contrary to the warnings I've been given, it didn't hurt, didn't make gross noises, and didn't smell bad. Even if it did, I wouldn't mind as long as they were off.

The next step was to take impressions. I must say that I am not a fan of them, but I sucked it up. They made two sets of molds (two top molds and two bottom molds) to make my temporary essix retainer and to ship off to whoever was making my hawleys. The top impressions made me gag a few times , but the bottom ones were tolerable. They also had me bite into a thin arch-shaped clay-like material so they can see where I bite down. I ended up with impression putty all around my mouth so i went to the bathroom to wash it off, then into the waiting room really quickly to show my mom my teeth.

When I returned, they took some pictures and x-rays of my teeth. They also let me pick out my retainer color (clear with silver sparkles!). Then, I was told to come back in 30 minutes to pick up my temporary retainer. I went to go get some white strips and when I came back it was ready. I'm not sure if all essix retainers are this way, but man they are rough and really uncomfortable. My tongue is pretty cut up right now from wearing them and I have a pretty moderate lisp. I can't wait to get my hawleys. Hopefully they'll be more comfortable.

Despite the retainer issue, I'm really glad I went through with braces. I love my teeth and now I don't hold back my smiles. It feels great to eat with them to. All in all, it was a great experience that was really worth the hassle.

You can see all the before and after pictures in my album!