The nurse tech took the braces off really fast. I was worried how the bands out of my back molars will come off, but she just clipped, clipped, and clipped and then the entire wire came out with the brackets, the power chains, everything. I never really realized that the brackets could come out so easily. When she yanked the wire/brackets out, certain parts hurt more than others, but it was quick so the pain didn't last long. She told me that with the Ceramic brackets, they could shatter easily so I should keep my eyes closed. So that's what I did so I wasn't able to see anything.
After the wires and brackets came out, the ortho used this machine thingy to "sand" my teeth - primarily to remove the glue residue still stuck on my teeth. There were times when I felt a little pain because my teeth were so sensitive. I don't know for sure, but that machine sounded like those dentists use for fillings. After that, I rinsed. The station I was at didn't have a mirror so at that point, I didn't know how my teeth looked!!
The nurse tech then polished my teeth with toothpaste (same procedure as what dentists do). I then had 4 impressions done (2 upper, 2 lower). I also picked out my retainer color. This is the plastic part of the retainer. The nurse tech said that people only see the wire and not the retainer color so it doesn't matter what color I choose. But there will be a time when I will have to take out my retainers in public. So most people don't pick the light pink or clear color because they look very "dental," and almost resemble dentures! So I picked the Fuschia (hot pink) color just to make it more fun. I now regret now not adding Sparkles to it 'cuz I could have. Oh well... I'm not a teenager anymore!
After that, I was done. Free to go. I finally took out my pocket mirror and looked at my teeth for the first time. My teeth looked great! They are so straight! I am SOOOO happy with it! It's so different looking at my teeth with braces and now without. What a fantastic feeling!!
I couldn't believe that my journey to a perfect smile has somewhat come to an end. I know there are still endless days of retainers, but I am done. I am done with braces. I am still a bit worried about my bite and potential relapse...but I need to just live for this moment now. The future is the future. I'm set to take a set of final Xrays so I'll post those when I get them done...I'll post the Before ones too, just to compare.
Here are some pictures I took today:
12/3/07 Before de-banding
12/3/07 After de-banding
