The Professor's Story of Braces at 40 (with pics)

[buffon85]

what a transformation!! you must be very happy!!
how was the debracing and filing your teeth at the same day? do you feel any sensitivity?

[onwardsandupwards]

They look amaaaazing! You must be so pleased, it must feel really weird being without braces. I hope you had a wonderful crunchy celebratory meal afterwards. I am so envious right now!!!

[27braces88]

YAY!

[Lovelyteeth]

Wow. What a perfect smile. I bet you are thrilled! Your teeth have such a lovely shape. Congrats.

[braced43]

Congratulations! Your smile is gorgeous .

[metalliKa]

Absolutely amazing transformation! Please, post more photos of your new smile! I can't get over your transformation!

[gobraces]

What a transformation! Such a lovely smile. Congratulations!

[TheProfessor]

Hi Gang,
Thanks for all of your kind comments--no one said anything about my naked teeth at work today and at lunch and dinner with friends! We'll see if the students in my class tomorrow say anything (they should definitely notice since they stare at me every Tuesday and Thursday for 75 minutes while I lecture!)

Now for the details of the debracing process! The first thing that happened was that my ortho came over and had another look and then she put a cotton roll in my mouth and told me to bite down hard while she removed my upper brackets. The metal brackets were easy, but the ceramics were pretty painful when she took them off. After a couple of minutes, she pulled out the archwire with brackets and power chain still attached and showed it to me. Then she moved on to another patient and the technician started removing my lower brackets (all metal). This was more painful than I thought it would be, especially on my poor lower incisor that moved the farthest and has always been sensitive to pressure throughout my braces journey. That bracket was stuck on really tight and actually broke when took it off (this was the most painful one). Once all of the brackets and the molar band were off (the band didn't hurt at all since that is a tooth with a root canal), she used a tool to pry off most of the glue. This also hurt quite a bit on several teeth and made a horrible crunching noise. Next, she inserted the lip spreader suction thing that we all know from when our braces are installed, dried off my lower incisors with lots of air, and put on the etching solution. I waited for a while for my ortho to come back and install the permanent retainer on my lower front 6 teeth. Then she shaped my upper front incisors a bit (you can still see a small notch in one of them but she didn't want to take off too much enamel) and she evened out my lower incisors (I wish she would have done a bit more on these teeth). Then she polished off the rest of the glue and I was finally able to look at my teeth! They seemed so big and "horsey", but now I'm getting used to it. The last thing that happened was that the tech came back and did impressions on my upper teeth. The first didn't look perfect so she did a second and had my ortho approve it. I'll go back in a week to pick up the Essix retainer and have X-rays, pictures, etc. They will also schedule me in for impressions for a lower Essix retainer (they want to let those teeth "settle" a bit first). The whole thing took an hour and 15 minutes. At the end, the tech handed me a sports bottle that had various teeth related goodies and some sticky candies.

It is pretty wonderful to eat without braces! I had a big chicken gyro for lunch and then I ate pizza like a normal person (no knife and fork) for dinner. When I looked at my teeth afterwards there were no food remnants left behind! The permanent retainer is interesting to my tongue, but I don't notice it when I talk or eat, so I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly.

Here are some more pictures:
Before:

Day 1:

After 25 months:




Pretty amazing, don't you think????

[TheProfessor]

Wow. What a perfect smile. I bet you are thrilled! Your teeth have such a lovely shape. Congrats.

Thanks for the complement! My teeth were so crazy looking my whole life, but it is amazing what a little shaping at the end did!

[TheProfessor]

what a transformation!! you must be very happy!!
how was the debracing and filing your teeth at the same day? do you feel any sensitivity?

My teeth feel fine this evening, so no sensitivity issues. I've never really had sensitive teeth so I guess that was in my favor today. The filing of the edges was actually the least painful part of the whole process. I'm really happy with my results!

[metalliKa]

Wow! I can't believe no one notices! It goes to show how little others pay attention, with the bulky braces and even with a brand new wonderful smile!

I can't wait until my turn!

[TheProfessor]

Wow! I can't believe no one notices! It goes to show how little others pay attention, with the bulky braces and even with a brand new wonderful smile!

I can't wait until my turn!

They had to have noticed, but these were the same friends who never acknowledged that I had braces! I was in seclusion in my office for most of the day grading exams, so I didn't see a lot of people. I hope someone complements my new look tomorrow

Your day will come soon!!!

[Lovelyteeth]

It still absolutely amazes me that a wire can make such a difference. I didn't get to see your pics before but having a look now - woah. What a transformation. Good on you. I'm only 9 weeks in but I'm so glad I took the plunge.

[kip]

Wow, your transformation is amazing and your teeth look absolutely great! Congratulations!

[littlething]

What a transformation - your teeth look AMAZING!!!! Congratulations!!!