ibraces procedure / incognito procedure

[ibracescee]

I waited for over 6 weeks but finally I got ibraces on my top and bottom arches today and I can share with you what the whole procedure was like.

The whole procedure was performed by a few assistants, one orthodontist and monitored by one ibraces consultant.

Orthodontist checked that the trays fits my teeth.

An assistant put a plastic tray into my mouth so that my mouth stayed opened and saliva got sucked away constantly.

Assistant prepared the surface of the teeth by blowing fine particles everywhere. My tongue felt very dry during this step. My mouth was rinsed clean with water.

Assistant applied bonding agent.

Orthodontist checked that teeth surface was dry and then applied another bonding agent.

Orthodontist placed tray into my lower arch and held the tray in place for three minutes.

Repeat for the top arch. Then both trays were removed. Brackets were now installed.

Excess cement was removed on the surface of the teeth and between teeth by assistant.

Took a break at this point, went to a lunch but couldn't eat much because I was shocked that I couldn't chew properly. Returned to orthodontic office in a couple hours.

Orthodontist then removed excess cement at hard to reach area with a drill.

Up to this point there was no pain at all.

Wires were placed into the brackets and tightened. I felt only a slight pressure during this step, but the assistants assured me that i will feel sore in about 6 h.

Wires were trimmed by assistant so that they didn't poke my tongue and gum. Orthodontist fine-tuned the trimming. At this point tongue started to feel the abrasion from the wires, but durable.

Done! Took a long time though, 4-5 hours for the entire procedure. The pain level was much less than a routine teeth cleaning in a dentist office, but opening my mouth for the whole day was quite tiring (had a break in between).

After a few hours, still didn't feel any pain -- until I started eating, when I bite on food the teeth felt sore. Also had trouble chewing because there are metals covering the molars. I need to learn how to chew properly. So far I stay with soft food like chicken noodle soup, milkshake, and cheesecake. (fatty creamy food unfortunately!)

After dinner tonight when I tried brushing my teeth, it felt sore! Also flossing seemed almost impossible without tools.

Overall 5 hours after the ibraces is on, I don't feel much pain unless I put pressure on the teeth.

[Zoso]

Congratulations. Sounds like things went smoothly, even if it was a bit lengthy.

The way your brackets were applied is what is referred to as "indirect bonding" (as opposed to direct bonding, where the brackets are positioned on at a time, tooth by tooth, then the curing light is used same as you had)

You are indeed going to have to invest in some special means for flossing with fixed braces - self-threading floss, or floss threaders are the most common, and are readily available at grocery stores and drugstores, if you live in the USA/Canada.

Don't forget to start taking photos and keeping a journal of your treatment - you can keep a blog right here on Bracesreview.

[ibracescee]

Congratulations. Sounds like things went smoothly, even if it was a bit lengthy.

The way your brackets were applied is what is referred to as "indirect bonding" (as opposed to direct bonding, where the brackets are positioned on at a time, tooth by tooth, then the curing light is used same as you had)

You are indeed going to have to invest in some special means for flossing with fixed braces - self-threading floss, or floss threaders are the most common, and are readily available at grocery stores and drugstores, if you live in the USA/Canada.

Don't forget to start taking photos and keeping a journal of your treatment - you can keep a blog right here on Bracesreview.

Thanks Zoso for the recommendations. My orthodontist did give me a pack of floss threaders to help me floss. I played with it last night it was very difficult because the ibraces brackets are on the backside of the teeth. Today I tried to use a forcep (tweezer) to help me guide the threader. That really helped putting the floss through the braces, but i still didn't have a clue what i was doing now that the floss was in between my teeth. Before i put braces on i floss everyday but with the braces it probably will take me over 30 min to floss!

[Zoso]

Don't worry - you'll get much quicker with practice! I can definitely imagine that it's a tougher prospect with linguals than "regular" braces though - harder to see what you're doing, and the tongue "flapping around" and getting in the way! The forceps were a good idea though - I liked my haemostat as a flossing aid.

[ibracescee]

Two months ago I had ibraces brackets put on both my top and bottom archs. Last week I went back to my orthodontist for routine adjustment.

Just want to include this procedure here in this topic:

Procedure of the day: chicane on my rotated teeth (upper 4s)

the tech hooked a transparent wire on my rotated tooth on the left, wrapped the wire all around the tooth and exerted heavy torque to force it to rotate. There's some room to fit the wire between my teeth but not much, so the wire felt really tight.

Suggestion before your next visit: take painkiller before your future ibraces visits.

[Sunny]

That sure sounds like a BIG adjustment! I hope your tooth is rotating well and feeling comforable now.

Good luck with your future progress!