If there’s one thing each and every orthodontics patient learns during treatment, it’s to adjust! And you'll have to do it all over again once your braces come off.
Orthodontics patients sometimes feel frustrated with the treatment process, and who can blame them? Just when they get used to one change, they have to adjust to something else!
First, you adjust to wearing braces, then you adjust to your changing smile, adjust to your new eating habits, adjust to your new oral hygiene habits, adjust your idea of how you look, adjust after your adjustment appointment… Good grief.
It all does come to an end eventually, thank goodness, and hopefully you’ve become a more adaptable person as a result (not a bad life lesson to go along with your new, even smile!).
Once your braces are off though, you'll have to go through a final set of adjustments. The following are some of the things you’ll have to adjust to once your braces come off:
Eating will feel weird.
Remember how eating felt weird and uncomfortable when you first got your braces? Well, it’s going to feel weird eating without them once they’re gone, too! You’ll be able to do all the things you took for granted before getting braces again, like biting into an apple, or eating corn on the cob.
You’ll be able to chew gum, candy, eat toffee and peanut brittle, and eat a salad without half of it remaining on your teeth afterwards. And your mouth will just feel strange as you eat, at first. But the dietary freedom can be exhilarating, so enjoy!
Calluses
You will likely have developed calluses on the insides of your lips as a result of constant friction with braces over the months of years of treatment. When you first got braces, the inside of your mouth probably felt pretty raw and irritated for a while. These calluses developed as a result of this. But not to worry! They won’t stick around for long after your braces have come off.
Brushing & Flossing
Your oral hygiene routine just got much easier! While a thorough oral hygiene routine is still important after braces, you'll no longer have to spend ages carefully cleaning out all the nooks and crannies of your braces, and can just brush and floss like normal.
Discolouration
As mentioned above, brushing and flossing with braces can be a bit difficult, and as a result even the most vigilant orthodontics patients sometimes find that their teeth have developed some discolouration during treatment. Many patients undergo a course of teeth whitening treatment to brighten their smiles back up once their braces have come off.
More Appointments with your orthodontist… and another orthodontic appliance.
That’s right, you’re not done with us yet! After your braces come off, you’ll need to have a few follow up appointments with us so that we can make sure that your retainer fits properly, and is doing its job.
And on that note, just because your braces are off, doesn't mean your treatment is actually over; you’ll be prescribed a retainer to keep your teeth from shifting out of position. And on THAT note…
Settling
Your newly-moved teeth won’t have anything to hold them in place anymore once your braces are gone, and so you’ll have to wear your retainer full time until they settle into their new positions. After that, you’ll still need to wear it periodically (usually just at night) for the rest of your life.
Straight teeth!
The moment your braces come off is an exciting one. You’ll finally be able to see how beautiful and even your new smile is! It’s a bigchange, one that has an impact on the appearance of your whole face. You’ve worked hard for this, and we’re so happy for you. Congratulations!