Posted by whybraces

Is there life after braces? Of course! In fact, getting your braces taken off can often feel like a giant weight has been taken off of your shoulders. It will be an immense relief to finally have your mouth free of all of those brackets and wires. You have probably been dreaming of having your braces taken off since the moment they were first glued in place!

Before we talk about the fun parts of life after braces, lets talk about the less fun and practical aspects of life after braces (just to get them out of the way).

1. While your first impulse might be to grab an apple and take a bite out of it, first you will need to get fitted for your retainer(s). Once you get your retainer, talk as much as possible. For a few days, while your tongue gets used to moving around the plastic, you will probably have a very strong lisp. Having a sudden and strong lisp will probably be a little embarrassing, but try to talk as much as possible. Read books out loud to yourself if you have to (at home of course). The more you talk, the faster your tongue will get used to the extra materials in your mouth and the more quickly your speech will return to normal.

2. Give your teeth a couple of days to get used to being free of glue and brackets. When the braces first come off, your teeth will be very weak and might even be a little loose. Let your mouth get used to the freedom before you go crazy and start indulging in all of the sticky and crunch foods that you’ve been denied for the last few years.

3. Follow your orthodontist’s instructions about your retainer. Follow them exactly. The better you are about wearing your retainer, the less time you will have to wear it!

Now that we have covered the practicality of getting your braces taken off, here are a couple of fun ways to prepare for the de-metalization of your mouth:

Stock up on the food that you have missed the most. While you might want to give it a few days before diving headfirst into all of the foods you’ve missed, you will want to have a lot on hand. Many people claim to eat their body weight in all of the foods that they have missed while they had braces.

Look into teeth whitening—after all, your teeth have been covered in glue and metal for a couple of years, why not get them whitened as a present for surviving the braces?

Take a picture of yourself with the braces still on—after just a couple of weeks without them, you’ll forget what it was like to have them on! The picture can also serve as a great warning for what will have to get put back on if you aren’t good about wearing your retainers.

Smile! You’ve got a new smile; why not show it off?