Elastics ruined my midline! Please advise!

[jrb2008]

Hi,
I'm new to Archwired, this is my first post. I'm 27 but my ortho treats me like a child and doesn't offer information often.

Anyway, I've been in self ligating braces for 12 months. At my 11th month, the ortho put me in full time elastics. Just one on each side, molar to canine. My bite has yet to come completely together but my teeth were all straight and aligned.

Within the past two weeks, I noticed my once perfect midline is off by at LEAST 2mm due to movement of my bottom teeth. Is this normal???? Should I be calling my ortho????? Any advice, info is greatly appreciated!!!

[Folk Ballad]

I've been having a lot of trouble with being treated like a kid at my orthodontist's office as well. Really, if he's not giving you a lot of information, you should be calling him anyway, midline or no midline. I know how nerve-wracking it is to not know what's going on with your treatment, and although it can be equally intimidating calling your orthodontist and asking to be treated like an adult, it's worth it in the end.
I've never had elastics, but I know that sometimes your teeth will look worse before they get better. (Example: my lower braces are creating some gaps in my bottom teeth, but that's in order to straighten them out and get them to stop crowding together later on.)
So maybe what the elastics are fixing now is being focused on and the mid-line is being sacrificed, and the focus will be put on perfecting your mid-line later. From what I've read on this board, it sounds like most orthodontists either put the mid-line on the back burner until the end of treatment or don't really bother with trying to get it perfect (since, unless it's dreadfully off, it's not something most people notice).
Really, though, the best thing to do would be to call your ortho.
I hope I've been of some help...

[Thathrill]

Wow. Well welcome to archwired. I am sorry that things aren't going so well. Your ortho should be one where you feel welcomed and confident in his skills. You shouldn't feel like a child. As with anything, I recommended talking with your ortho regarding your bite and midline. It never hurts to ask questions. For me I was told my bite would worsen prior to surgery and it has. 3 weeks ago I noticed that one of my top front teeth was tilting backwards and was created a small gap between my two front teeth. At first I thought it was part of my treatment then I noticed my arch was off. So I called the ortho and made an appointment. Good thing I did because they found a small bend in my archwire that shouldn't have been there

[-Michael-]

Hello

I've learned to ask lots and lots of questions often! After the first few appointments, he started explaining everything to me! Now I don't even have to ask. And if I leave and forgot to ask him a question, I get on the cell phone and ask...ok, what is that lower left powerchain supposed to do again?

I think there must be some psychological factor going on here (not with you, but with everyone). I see, hear of and read on here about lots of people that want answers, but seem reluctant to ask questions. I guess they just assume their ortho will relay every detail (which they probably should but never do).

Ask, ask, ask!!! It's your mouth. They'll tell you what you want to know, all you gotta do is ask

-Michael-

[platinum]

Sounds odd that your midline would shift if you have identical elastics on both sides.

I had elastics only on one side to pull my midline right. Now i have elatics on both sides and the midline is staying where it is supposed to be.

[jrb2008]

Thank you all for the advice and comments! I ended up calling my ortho's office and the receptionist was kind enough to relay my concern to the doctor who then responded to the receptionist to tell me it's okay and no big deal. Better than nothing I guesss........
Normally while in the ortho's office, I am mid-adjustment when the doc is around and wishing that sign language was universal.

[Lacey]

just a suggestion but try to ask the girl (or guy) that is working on your teeth. I almost never as my ortho many questions cause he gives me a bunch of dr terms that I dont' get. So after he leaves the room I ask the girl doing my braces "What does that mean?" or "what does that do?" They usually are good about explaining it so that I can understand!

[madefromconcentrate]

I had an adjustment four weeks ago, and my midline was still perfectly aligned at that point. In the past four weeks, though, it has shifted approximately 1mm to the right. So, when I went for my adjustment yesterday, I made a point to bring this to my ortho's attention and asked him point-blank "will this be fixed?"

He assured me that the midline would definitely be fixed later on, so I'm not worried about it anymore. Well, as much as I was [I'm a total worry wort sometimes]

It's good that you called just to make sure - personally, the past two weeks waiting has been hell and I've been constantly checking out my midline to see if it's shifted any more.

[nancoy]

Mine did this also. They forgot to put on a stopper. After they put a stopper on, my teeth went back straight, then it happened again when they put me in a chain, the stopper came loose, they fixed it and I got my braces off a few weeks later. I would make an appointment soon so they can fix your problem.

[Danielle]

Within the past two weeks, I noticed my once perfect midline is off by at LEAST 2mm due to movement of my bottom teeth. Is this normal????

I kinda hope it's normal--not that I wish a ruined midline on you, but only because it's happened (or happening) to me. My midline was always way, way off and I was okay with it... until it lined up! But about a month after that the elastics and spring thingy (to close a gap) consipired together to ruin my midline, open my bite, and create a gap in the front while closing a gap on the sides. My Dentist/Ortho calls this progress. I was perfectly happy to accept the gap on the side and keep the midline. I'm hoping the elastics I wear now will close the open bite and bring my midline back.

[jrb2008]

Since my last post, the one where I was freaking out about my shifting midline, my mid-line miraculously shifted back to the middle before my next scheduled appointment.

During the appointment, my ortho left me in elastics top canine to bottom molar, contoured some weird edges on my two front teeth and put an elastic power chain across my front 4 teeth to "consolidate". I love progress but the power chain was awfully painful the first night. The next morning, my teeth had moved so much I was back to needing a mirror to get my elastics on.

Things do move along and there's definitely truth in the whole "it gets worse before it gets better" statement my ortho likes to use.

[purpleteeth]

Things really do "appear" to get worse before they get better. Asking questions is your job, as we are our best advocates.

[jaswi]

I'm also in the club with a bad midline. Mine was perfect at one point, don't exactly know what happened but its off by about 2mm now, and I guess thats how its gonna stay, cause I'm not too worried about it.