Braces off Tuesday. What should I expect?

[Ziggy]

I think I hope my braces are coming off Tuesday. I'm wondering what to expect not only at that appointment, but post braces -- retainers, any restrictions? Can I eat myself into a coma with all the foods I've missed? Any thoughts welcome.

I'm also prepared to hear, "Maybe next month." I'll let you know what happens.

[Tyrantblade]

I get my braces off tomorrow (for sure); it will be interesting to get some tips and whatnot.

[Ruby77]

How did this go? Can anyone else share their experiences?

I have a good few months to go but had a bracket changed today and it's made me really nervous about getting my braces off, I thought she was going to pull my tooth out!

[djspeece]

Don't get your hopes up, because the debracing appointment is different from a routine appointment so has to be scheduled for a longer period of time. In my case, and from I have read on this forum, the ortho takes a final look and says something along the lines of ""Yep, they can come off in a month (or whatever) so let's set up that appointment." Hopefully i am wrong, and your ortho is one of those types who likes to surprise people with good news. In any event, you are in the home stretch! There seems to be some variation in how retainers are arranged. I wanted the Vivera type, so he took impressions at my last appointment with braces -- I guess the lab can accommodate that and make good retainers. I think he also took impressions for the other non-Hawley type of retainer -- i am blanking on the name -- because he could have those made in his own lab in a couple of hours. My debracing appointment was set for about 3 weeks out, and I had retainers to wear immediately.
I sometimes get myself worked up for nothing. At my last appointment with braces -- the one where a debracing decision would be made -- and i was now into my third year of a two year plan. I opened my mouth for the technician to remove the archwires, and she said the dreaded "Uh oh, let me get the doctor." Now in my experience as a registered nurse, I can assure you those are not words you want to hear. As it turns out, a small gap had opened up between my two upper teeth. I nearly had a fit (internally). However my ortho came over, said "Oh I can fix that" and applied a wire to force them together for the impressions to be made. By the time the braces came off the gap was gone. I think the Ortho Gods just like to mess with patients, especially wise-guys like me.
What to expect? Happiness! Your teeth will look huge to you, and you will swear they have grown somehow. I ate a lot of forbidden food during my tenure (see the thread "Confess your orthodontic sins"). And the really weird thing is that a lot of people won't notice that they are off! It's maddening.

Congrats on coming closer to your goal! Best of luck to you!