Well folks, all good things must come to an end and having braces is no exception!

What is the whole ‘getting braces off’ thing like?  Well you need to be able to sit patiently with your mouth open and your tongue out of the way for a while…but generally you will arrange a ‘I really need to swallow or move now’ signal with your dental auxiliary first – so it’s all good.

Removal of the braces is not difficult.  Braces bonded directly to the teeth are removed by slightly deforming the base of the bracket.  When the base of the bracket is squeezed, the bond releases and the bracket will come off, leaving adhesive on the tooth surface.  This means that time must be taken to remove the adhesive left behind.

This is done with a high-speed dental hand piece.  Now, those among you who are (like me) scared of high speed anything whizzing around your mouth, rest assured that there is usually very little discomfort with the removal process.  In fact, most people describe the feeling more as a “tickle” on the teeth than pain or discomfort.  The removal is limited to the adhesive only, and the enamel remains in its normal condition.

After the braces and adhesive are removed, most patients describe their teeth as feeling slimy, since the rough feel of the braces is no longer on the teeth.  It is really really strange for the first few hours.  Also, the gum tissue may be slightly puffy and inflamed from all that activity.  This will usually subside within a few days with good brushing and flossing.

So there you have it.  Hopefully you have watched the video on the previous post and seen my excitement on deband day.  This is the more technical overview.  Good luck with your deband…I thought it would be fun not to tell my family – guess what?  In spite of smiling hugely because I just couldn’t help it, they still didn’t notice for a few hours!  Go figure.