DmitryBrant.com

Those who know me personally know that I’ve been wearing braces for the last three and a half years. For those who don’t know me personally, no, I’m not 14 years old! The decision to get braces was a “better late than never” sort of thing.

Anyway, let me assure you that wearing braces for three and a half years was no picnic. But nothing — no previous agony that I’ve endured in life — could prepare me for the removal of the braces, which is what happened today.

When I got the braces, I chose to have the standard metallic ones on the bottom teeth, and the clear (ceramic) ones on the top teeth. The bottom brackets came off without a problem, although at several points I wondered whether it was the bracket that snapped off, or half of the tooth.

Removing the top ceramic brackets was where it got interesting. Apparently, the ceramic brackets do not simply come off like the metallic ones with minimal torque. Instead, the doctor uses a special instrument to crush the bracket right on top of the tooth which it’s attached to. The doctor then proceeds to snap off the remaining shards of the bracket, and then sands down the remnants of the adhesive compound.

It’s hard to think of an analogy for the blinding, overwhelming pain of this particular experience. I suppose it might be similar to the feeling of actual teeth being crushed, but probably not as bad, since all my teeth miraculously stayed intact, despite my fears otherwise.

So, if I can give one bit of advice for anyone thinking of getting braces:

For the love of god, the lord Jesus in heaven above us, never get the clear braces, unless you’re willing to suffer through the act of removing them.