bracing both arches at once?

[Jenny5]

I had uppers and lowers (with molar bands) put on at the same time. I guess that was because I didn't have any bite issues and both uppers and lowers needed a lot of work. I was actually relieved because I just wanted to get everything started and probably would have been a little bummed if I had to wait a few months for the second set. I had no problems adjusting to both being on at once. And as cowlypso said, whatever your orthodontist decides, you'll deal with and it will seem "normal" to you. Just roll with the punches. Since we're all adults and thought long and hard about whether we wanted to go through with treatment or not, it makes it a lot easier to deal with everything as it comes. So whether you get your braces put on in one appointment or two, all will be fine and you'll have a great end result!

[tommyfive]

tommyfive's redux:

yes, they certainly could have done both at once. many orthos do when it's not contraindicated by the particulars of a given case, and if that's how they operate. In my case, many orthos would have braced both arches in one appointment.

my ortho doesn't do longer than 1 hour appointments except in special cases. That's the way they run their practice, so by that alone, they would not put on more than one arch in one appointment. but they also told me I would have been very unhappy if they had braced both arches at once.

I can tell you: after having the bottoms on for 10 days, that if they had done the tops and bottoms the same day, I probably would not have eaten anything for a few days after that... or my diet would have consisted largely of ortho wax and ibuprofen for a week or so.

no doubt about it, they were right.

Everyone's different, doctors treat patients in different ways and get results.

All's said and done, I still would have taken it all at once, but I know now that I am happier overall the way it was done. That was my ortho's main line with me - the patient's comfort level is perhaps the most important element of the treatment plan. not such a bad approach, eh? (but it also helps them to be able to treat more patients in a day than those long appointments)

leave it to the professionals, let them do what they do, ask if you've got questions, but they know the way...

t

[LaaLaa]

I had the two arches put on at separate times. My top going in on April 11th and my lowers put on today (April 30th), which really wasn't that bad since time really flew by these past few weeks.

In my case, they definitely had to go on at two different times. I needed to get some extractions done on both uppers and lowers; especially for the lowers because a tooth that needed to go was blocking another, hence the waiting. My doctor initially wanted me to wait until I had the needed extractions done before even putting the uppers but she gave me the option of getting part of my uppers braced for aesthetic reasons since I'm still in college and all.

So, that's what I did, got my top partially braced first and then today got them fully braced and the bottoms partially braced. Another thing my doctor mentioned was that she usually wants the patients to get used to having just one arch and the extraction sites to heal since those in itself are pretty drastic changes to go through. And although I initially wasn’t thrilled about not getting both done at the same time, I'm glad she had me wait, because boy I don't think I could've handled the pain.

[loulou123]

I had my upper and lowers put on at the same time too, didnt get a choice in this but if i had i would have picked this option anyway to get it all out of the way and started.

Dont think it barely took my ortho an hour to do both arches anyway so time wasnt an issue.

[Betty Bat]

Betty Bat redux:

My uppers and lowers went on at the same time (October, 2005), but my uppers were removed on April 19, 2007 and the lowers are still on and will stay on for about another 4 to 6 weeks. And, I found it interesting that my upper wire was changed almost every month (my appointments are every 4 weeks) while my lower wire wasn't changed for about 8 months.

[cally]

I had both done last Tuesday, along with a Nance biteplate. So far, other than the annoyance of the bite plate, there have been no real problems. I was done with wax by Sunday and now just need to refine my flossing techniques (or figure out how the heck to do it!)

Cally

[Anticipator]

I had both arches done at once, with the exception of a couple brackets on teeth that needed more space to be included in the arch.

My top teeth made a slight contact with the bottom brackets for a short period but my bite opened up quickly and it wasn't a real problem.

[Mbraced]

Hey, I thought the same thing. Why in the world do I have to come back and go through all of this again? But, my ortho explained to me that he wanted to let my top teeth adjust so that the bottom brackets will fit better, or something like that. I trust him, he's the doctor and I will follow his plan. I just got my tops last Thursday and I will get my bottoms in about 6 weeks. Good luck, it'll be alright.

[Clairey Fairey]

I got my lower teeth braced first, and uppers in future (6-9 months or so).
I was really wondering how people can cope with putting braces on both arches at the same time. The pain and cleaning....

Putting braces on does not take long, and I don't see any problem to have them in different times. Actually I think it is better.

my orthodontist said he would be putting braces on the top arch first, then the bottom in another appointment, but i don't know how long after, or why (obviously i'll have to ask).

Maybe your top teeth requires more work, and therefore braced before lowers.

I had lowers done first, I think with the spacers, bands and lower brace it was better to not have had uppers and lowers done at once!! No idea how I would have ate!!