On Sunday, I noticed my bracket on my front, lower, left canine (third one in from the middle) felt differently, but I wasn’t sure why.
Although still attached to the wire with the elastic, my bracket on my lower, left canine is clearly no longer in the right place.
My curious tongue just kept trying to check it out and it seemed like there was space at the top of the bracket between the base and my tooth.
I brushed my teeth and, yes, somehow, some space has appeared.
Then yesterday, I noticed my tooth kind of felt sensitive when I was brushing my teeth.  There wasn’t anything I could do about it, though as it was a holiday.Â
Today, it is feeling the same as yesterday. It’s sensitive, but not to the point I’m concerned.  I took a look at it, and it appears to only be debonded closer to the top of my tooth (not the root).  Maybe it will be a quick fix?
I called 3M’s Incognito Specialist to see if I should call my doctor.  The thing is, I already have an appointment booked for Thursday, so I was hoping it would be okay to wait until then.  She said I should definitely call him, so I will!
In the meantime, I’ve been trying to think about how this could have possibly happened.  I first noticed it during my lunch on Saturday, which was a chicken sandwich. I wouldn’t say it was the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had, but it certainly wasn’t something I thought would remove a bracket.
I asked 3M’s Incognito Specialist if it could have been my meal, and she said she hears about it all the time that something seemingly soft has caused a bracket to debond.  She said what most likely happened was that it was fractured by something hard in the past, and that biting down on the sandwich was the final straw for that bond.
Regardless of when and how it happened, I feel awful.  I really liked knowing that I didn’t debond any brackets during my treatment!  I guess I’ll find out what how bad it is on Thursday, if not before, depending on what the doctor says when I call.
Wish me luck!!
**Update**
It’s officially debonded.  I. Feel. Awful.  Off to the ortho!
Hi Jacqui,
Love reading about your journey so far. I was wondering if it’d be ok to post some of your comments into an article we’re writing about 3M Incognito? It’s one of our top inquiries so we’d love to be able to quote someone who’s works at 3M AND uses the product.
Thanks!
How do incognitos compare to invisalign? I want to get braces and my orthodontists are recommending invisalign.. are these better? Should I ask about them?
Hi Jennie,
Thank you so much for your question! I have worn braces on the front of my teeth…and now behind….but I haven’t worn aligners, so I am not really able to compare the patient experience for you. Sorry about that!
What I can say is that I honestly love my Incognito Braces. And not just because I work at 3M! I love that no one knows I’m wearing them at all. I’m sure you’ve seen people wearing aligners – they’re not completely invisible – so that is one thing I like for sure.
Also I like the whole “set it an forget it” approach. I would not be very compliant if I had to wear aligners, but that’s not to say that is the same for everyone! I know myself, and I would be playing with them or taking them in and out all day long.
Speaking of taking them in and out, I love that with my Incognito Braces, I can enjoy drinking and eating in social situations (with friends, clients or whomever!), without havign to remove something from my mouth first. Yes, I have to brush my teeth, but at least I can go on like there’s nothing behind my teeth and just dig in!
I was at a conference in Vancouver and heard that lots of people leave their aligners in when they drink coffee, pop, etc. The speaker says that leads to cavities because the particles sit between the aligner and teeth and can’t be cleaned out. For me, that was a huge eye-opener! I love that I don’t have something to remove every time I want to take a drink of juice or whatever.
Another great thing about Incognito Braces is that they involve a “handle on a tooth” as my orthodontist says which means your doctor can guide the tooth where he/she wants it to go individuallly…that is harder to do with a plastic aligner…and orthodontists want you to have the best smile possible when you’re done treatment. Having said that, everything is pre-programmed (completely customized for a personalized smile suited just for your teeth) and made with extremely complex technology to get that final result you want. When I saw my set-up model of what my teeth will look like when I’m done treatment, it was amazing! They. Looked. Perfect!
As an aside, if your orthodontist recommends an aligner, you may be a candidate for Incognito Lite. It just straightens the front teeth, so you’d have brackets behind your front six or eight teeth (top and bottom) only. Several doctors have told me they are finding treatment with this quite fast compared to aligners because the compliance issue is gone (they’re not relying on patients to wear a plastic aligner 23 hours a day). That’s probably the best part, actually, over an aligner. You can trust your hidden braces are working all day every day to get you to that final result.
Anyway, I hope this helps! Again, I’m not an expert in aligners, but I know the advantages I’ve experienced with Incognito Braces and I have heard from other patients who tried aligners and then chose to be re-treated with Incognito Braces…and others who just knew they wouldn’t be compliant and wear the aligner enough.
To see if your orthodontist offers Incognito Braces visit HiddenBraces.com and use the doctor locator with your postal code. That’s were our providers are listed if there are any in your area.
I hope you have a great day, Jennie! Thanks again for stopping by!!
Jacqui