When can I get my braces off?
Dental braces can be uncomfortable. After a few months into the orthodontic treatment, all our patients ask when they can have their braces removed and whether it hurts to get the braces off the teeth.
What does the length of the orthodontic treatment depend on ?
When you meet our orthodontists at Angel Orthodontics for the first time, they will always give you an estimated time of duration for your treatment. They will explain the procedure step by step, and will prepare you for how to get your teeth braces off.
Braces can interfere with your normal eating habits and may induce extra stress. Knowing when you will be able to take your braces off can help make the treatment easier and give you a goal to look forward to.
Usually, most patients will begin to see major changes in the appearance of their teeth within the first six months of treatment. This is because the first objective after the placement of the brackets is to uncrowd the teeth or close spaces, depending on the initial situation. After that, the changes aren’t as obvious or noticeable as they are primarily bite-related.
Factors that influence the length of the orthodontic treatment
While it is impossible to predict exactly when you will be able to get your adult braces off, there are a few factors that can help you have them removed earlier:
– Your age might influence your treatment, as the treatment can be faster with younger people.
– Another thing that can seriously slow down treatment is a patient who does not follow the instructions given by the orthodontist such as keeping up good dental hygiene, which is vital to any treatment. Some treatments require patients to be more involved than others. At Angel Orthodontics we try to give clear instructions to our patients so they know exactly what they have to do in order to ensure their treatment success.
– The teeth might look realigned, but the bite might not yet be. This is one of the number one factors which will determine whether or not you will have to continue to wear the braces.
– Depending on the complexity of the case including the orthodontic problem being fixed, the issues we identified at the beginning of treatment, can contribute to a protracted treatment. Your treatment may go on for longer than predicted, if the problems are not easily corrected and more complex than initially obvious. Such orthodontic treatments will naturally take longer than with a patient who requires less complex adjustments.
– In some cases the patient’s teeth are simply not responding to treatment as quickly as we had originally expected and therefore the braces may have to be left on longer than we first estimated.
– During the course of the treatment, it is possible that we will find additional issues that we want to correct and we will offer our patient some braces advice for this.
– If the teeth are not straight enough for the patient and not aligned enough for the orthodontist, a few additional months may be needed before your braces can be removed.
It is quite difficult to generally say how long an orthodontic treatment can take as it depends on the severity of malocclusion or dental problems that the patient suffers from. Overall, orthodontic treatment through braces can take anything from 6 months to 30 months.
It is important to note that you should only get your braces off when you and your orthodontist are completely happy with the position of your teeth, as getting them off too early may leave you with undesirable results.
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