<p>Okay, so I know we had the whole wisdom teeth discussion already and I read every word of it, but that didn't help so here goes...</p>
<p>D was told today that her braces can start to come off next month, and she is overjoyed. BUT it is the week before a very important [personally, to her] MT audition at her HS. The ortho is scheduled to take just the bottom off on a Wednesday and the auditions start the following Monday. He is also at that time, installing a tiny thin permanent retainer along the back of her bottom teeth.</p>
<p>Anyone had experience with this? Should she wait until after the auditions? Her thought is that it will be good for singing and speaking to have less metal in the mouth. Thoughts anyone???</p>
<p>Removal of the bottom won't make much of an asthetic difference, but that bottom retainer may impact what her tongue does (speech and comfort). My vote would be to leave them on until after the audtion . . . or convince the ortho to take 'em off, take 'em all off (one week before the audition).</p>
<p>speaking from experience, the wire retainer will have absolutely no negative effect on her speech.</p>
<p>trust me, take them off as soon as possible. </p>
<p>even though the top braces would make the biggest impact visually, her mouth will FEEL better having the bottom ones off -- it's such a good feeling!!! </p>
<p>after about 12 hours of having the wire retainer she won't even notice it anymore. </p>
<p>congrats on the braces of and break a leg with the audition!!</p>
<p>I had braces for 3 years and I've had the metal retainer for 4 since...have them taken off. There is enough time for her to get used to them before the audition, and voices are so much more free without braces, for example, most people have slight lisps that aren't even noticed until the braces are gone, hope that helps</p>
<p>Oh also if she has an overnight retainer too, make sure she always wears it because if you stop for even a day or two it will hurt so much when you put them back, just a hint.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! She IS so excited to have them off and has been so good about taking care of her dental hygiene throughout the 2.5 years, she really deserves it. We are not worried about her visual appearance, but more about the affect on her singing. Thankfully this same director already saw her at an audition about a month ago and can't quit saying how strong her audition was then [she got that part already-yeah!!!], and she is even more confident about this upcoming audition so it will probably be fine regardless. But I do think a week of getting used to not having them will be fine.</p>
<p>I'll keep you all posted and pass along your good wishes! Thank you. :)</p>
<p>What do you guys think about having your braces on for college auditions? Mine are clear, so they can't be seen from stage, but I keep telling my orthodontist they HAVE to be off by January of my senior year...do you think it will have an affect on my auditions/acceptances?</p>
<p>I seriously doubt any college would consider the presence of braces a deciding factor in anyone's acceptance decision. They know that in the long run, the braces are GOOD for your marketability, and as long as it doesn't seriously affect your pronunciation, I don't think it's a problem at all.</p>
<p>Don't worry baby! Having nice teeth is very important in our field!</p>