When Will My Braces Come Off?

One of the most popular questions that an orthodontist will hear, “When are my braces coming off?” 

It does not matter whether you are a teenager or an adult with braces, this question will come up.  I will spend some time discussing the factors that go into your braces staying on and when they may actually come off.  No, we are not trying to punish you!  We are trying to get your teeth in the best possible position and yes you can speed the process up!

Your orthodontist will give you a best guess of your estimated treatment time, however there are variables that will come up and compliance with treatment is one of the largest components of this.  Oral hygiene is a great way to reduce your treatment time.  Keeping your teeth and gums clean will result in a better environment for your teeth to move.  When bleeding gums are present there is a lot of inflammation and teeth actually do not move as well.  Most of you will have an overbite when you begin treatment and almost all will have to wear some sort of rubber bands to correct your bite.  If these are worn as directed, most of the time all day, your bite will be corrected quicker.   

Did you know that it takes your teeth 10 hours of continuous force to move?  That means wearing your elastics for 4 hours then taking it out for 2 and putting it back in does not do anything for you.  That is why your orthodontist keeps telling you month after month to wear your rubber bands!  This can literally take months to complete, when all it should take is one to two months.  The following picture illustrates the bite we are looking for with rubber bands.

NOTE: From the above picture, see how tooth 1 is ahead of teeth 3 and 4 in the OVERBITE photo.  By using rubber bands, we were able to move the teeth to the appropriate position without having to extract any teeth.  See how tooth 1 is located between teeth 3 and 4 in the CORRECTED photo.

So what can you do?  Keep those teeth good and clean, floss daily and use a fluoride rinse and wear your rubber bands as prescribed by the orthodontist and surely your treatment time will shrink.  Give it a try, it will work. For a testimonial from one of our adult patients who had traditional braces as discussed in this blog, click here. For further information about our practice you can find our website at www.bovorthodontics.com. To keep up to date with current promotions and news, become a fan of our Facebook page.