My Breezy Braces Experience

Before I decided to apply to PA school, I was working as a dental hygienist at Tend – the instagrammable dental office. During my time there, I had the opportunity to try out their Breezy Braces and I am so excited to tell you all about it! Breezy braces (originally from the company inBrace) are essentially hidden braces that go on the inside of your teeth and use innovative technology to straighten your teeth in a quicker, aesthetically pleasing, and less painful fashion than traditional braces. This is my second time having orthodontic treatment, the first being with traditional braces…It was definitely interesting to say the least!

The Beginning

I had my bonding appointment in June 2022. With inBrace, you usually have the lower brackets bonded a few weeks before the upper to allow time to adjust. I had both the upper and lower arches bonded at the same time as I was moving to New York the following week. I thought that it was bearable to have both done at the same time – I was shocked that the initial pain/pressure was significantly less than I experienced with traditional braces. The pain was not bad at all, but my tongue was definitely irritated from the wires and brackets. At the bonding appointment, they did provide me with a bag of wax to place on sore spots, and Peroxyl mouthwash to help with the tongue irritation. The very first day, it was SO hard to eat! I just could not figure out how to chew with the brackets on the inside of my teeth. With each day, my symptoms got better – by day 9 I felt great for the most part, I was able to eat normally and my tongue felt fine! The worst part was that I had an awful lisp, and I was so worried about it not going away.

The In-between

This part is pretty uneventful. The cool thing about the braces is that before your treatment starts, a digital scan of your teeth is taken (that’s right – no gross impression molds!) and sent to the company for the wires to be created. The wires are created and bent in a series of waves to automatically express the desired changes, which means less appointments to the dentist! I had a total of 3 wires to cycle through, one of them being a correctional wire for any small changes I wanted to make when my treatment was near completion. I did have to wear elastics, which were very annoying (and one of the main reasons I didn’t complete my initial treatment with traditional braces). I still had a lisp, although it was better and almost unrecognizable. I was also  able to eat normally throughout my treatment, but it was very frustrating to have food constantly stuck between the brackets. My tongue felt fine for the most part, but every once in a while I’d have a sore spot from rubbing against the brackets or accidentally biting my tongue.

The End

By April 2023, it was debonding time! I was initially given a treatment plan for 18 months, but after 10 months everything looked great and I was able to complete treatment. The debonding process took about 1.5 hours. My dentist, Dr. Madhavi at the UWS location, offered to polish my front teeth a bit to make the edges a bit smoother and they could not be more perfect! I’m so happy to feel the back of my teeth again, and NO LISP! What a relief! The only downside is that I have to wear my retainers around the clock for 3 months – so not looking forward to that. It’s such a hassle taking them out every time you have to eat! But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right?!

All in all, I had a pretty good experience, and I’m glad I did it. It was nice to be perfecting my teeth while no one really had a clue that I had braces. Although I could hear the lisp, most people said that they did not notice until I said something. Now, the real task is staying on track with the retainers so that my efforts don’t go to waste!