Today I got my braces off after 26 months. I have had an expander, 2 surgeries, tongue spurs, elastics, basically everything except headgear.

I was so excited to get the braces off. First they popped off the brackets which didn't hurt and before I knew it, the hygienist was holding my wire with the brackets still attached to show me. Then the truly horrible part came. Unlike the other stories I have read, the cement on my teeth was removed with a manual hand instrument. All I could feel was like my teeth were being cracked and grinded in pieces and the sound was horrid. My feet were twitching because of the sound.

After about 20 or 30 minutes of scraping, she polished my teeth, put on the retainers, and then I had some impressions taken. My teeth feel so big and slimy and although I am not used to them yet, they look wayyy better.