Orthodontist

Today I hit a major milestone in my orthodontic treatment and got my braces put on.  The whole process took about two and a half hours.  The pain level experienced was moderate discomfort.  Here is a breakdown of the process of putting on my braces.

1. Removal of Spacers
   Finally, I get to have these wretched things taken out!  Even though they don’t cause as much pain as the couple days when I first had them put in, they have been a pain to have because I could not fully utilize my molars and they made my gums feel sore.

   These were easily removed using what appeared to be tweezers.  Painless removal.

2. Flossing and Brushing Spacer Gap
   I’ve been wanting to floss the area where the spacers were in for a week now.  Luckily, they gave me a chance to do so.  Flossing there feels weird since there’s such a gap between the teeth.  Also got to brush that area a bit.
3. Polishing Teeth
   Next came a quick polishing off of the teeth surfaces where the braces and molar bands would go.  This included front and back of the  molars and the front surfaces of the rest of the teeth.  This was similar to a typical dental cleaning polishing using an electric powered polisher.
4. Rinse
   After the polishing, I got to rinse out the gritty paste used during the polishing.  This would be the last moment I get before the hardware starts getting put in.
5. Fitting for Molar Bands
   

   Orthodontic Molar Band

   For each molar that bands would be placed on, my orthodontist fitted out the proper size bands.  This was a trial and error process.  He would call out first an estimated number (such as 27), and the assistant would hand him the band.  He would try to fit it onto the molar, and then depending if that was too big or too small, call out another number band.  Sometimes this took 3-4 tries before finding the right fit.  The molar bands were placed on the furthest back two molars on each side of the top and bottom, with the exception of one, in which the molar was not completely exposed for a molar band to fit.
   
   Upon finding the right size, the orthodontist would then press it in place first with his thumb, second with a tool, and then third using the so-called “bite tool”, place it position and ask me to bite down.  My biting would press against the tool and in turn, press against the molar band forcing it to fit tighter into the opposing tooth.  The biting was painful because it felt like biting on a piece of metal.  Imagine biting using your molars hard onto a fork or spoon… not pleasant.
   
   After all the hard work of putting in all the molar bands, the orthodontist would then take them all out.  Yes, that’s right, all that rough biting for nothing!  Well, not really.  This initial step was to find the right fit and to test fit the bands on the corresponding molar.  The next step was to actually cement the bands in so that they are more permanent.

6. Cementing of Molar Bands
   

   Orthodontic UV Light

   Cementing or gluing on the molar bands starts out with cleaning off the surface of the molars using some sort of liquid cleaning agent.  The cleaning agent is put on the molars and some of it hits your tongue and it tastes bad!  I must have swallowed small amounts of it during the process, yuck.  The molar is then sprayed with water and evacuated out with the suction tube.
   
   Air is blown onto the molar to dry it and cotton swabs are placed near the molar to keep it dry as the orthodontist places in the molar band (filled with the bonding cement).  The process here is similar to the fitting process.  He presses them in using his thumb, then using a pick tool to adjust and presses them in further, and finally using the “bite tool” to have me bite down against.  Again the biting is only for a second, but is rather painful.  The last step here is to shine some sort of ultra-violet light onto the molar, which is suppose to help the cement dry quickly.

7. Rinse Break
   After all the molar bands are cemented into place, I got a quick rinse break.  These breaks are relieving for both the orthodontist and I.  The molar bands cover the majority of the sides of the molars, nearly touching the gum line to the top of the biting surface.  I find myself constantly licking them with my tongue.
8. Gluing on Brace Brackets
   Next came the gluing on of the brace brackets.  These are the small brackets that will go on every tooth.  This process was probably the most uncomfortable part, not because of the brackets, but of the cheek spreading device that holds your cheeks and lips open during the procedure.  The pain of the spreader poking at the top of your gums (between your gums and your lip) was quite painful.  This part of the whole process also took some considerable time because brackets had to be glued on to each tooth.
   
   This first starts with the cleaning agent again.  The orthodontist used a small brush to apply the agent to the outer surfaces of each tooth.  This is then sprayed with water and suctioned out.  Air is used to dry the surface.  Each brace bracket had glue applied to the back sides by the assistant, I believe.  The orthodontist then places each one onto each tooth, positioning and applying some pressure to each one.  After they are all positioned, the ultra-violet light is used again to help the drying of the adhesive.
9. Rinse Break
   The final rinse break was taken after all the brace brackets were glued on.  Now my mouth feels full of hardware.  Moving my lips felt weird because it would constantly be scrapping along the braces.
10. Attaching Archwire
    The last step of the entire process was to attach the archwire to the braces.  The archwire is a thin, half oval shaped piece of wire.  The wire first put on is very flexible, but has shape memory to return back to the half oval form.  This is attached to the braces, which seems to sort of “click” into place.  The ends of the archwire are cut by the orthodontist so that it doesn’t poke the back of your cheeks.  Two archwires are applied, one for the top and one for the bottom.
    

    Orthodontic Braces