So i thought this was all a breeze oh buddy i was wrong

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#1 Post by **markGl** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:51 pm

well so to date this whole braces experiance has been a breeze.. few tender days "after" the adjustment.. well today my ortho gave me a few little surprises.. first off i hear her say to her assistant we need to widen his lower arch out and elevate some teeth, ( a small alarm bell in my mind goes off ) and i raise a brow more curious than apprehensive, then i hear her say also i want these teeth in powerchains... so as im laying there watching her she grabs my wire and starts bending it and making it look all strange all the while in my mind im reflecting on past posts that i have read from ya'll and thought, well my pain tollerance is high this will be a peice of cake.. so she fits my now mangled looking wire back to my teeth and starts to wire tie it... well first thought this feels strange new forces being applied i can do it.. then the Chain.. she put that puppy on and my first thought was

" HOLY @$%# " my teeth got sore from the get go.. i cant imagine the world of pain tomorrow will bring.. so my lesson learned is... powerchains are no joke... thanks for listening to my rant heh

#2 Post by **staceyr2** » Thu May 14, 2009 1:58 pm

I had to laugh as I read your post. I had some bends put in to push my bottom fronts back down a bit, no biggie there though. Powerchains are a different story. Yes they hurt, but it does fade. After about a week or so, you won't even know you have them.

#3 Post by **blindboarder2008** » Thu May 14, 2009 8:19 pm

ya powerchains are a pain in the neck (no pun intended) but it does get better as stated above. May take a few days to a week or so but I promise you it does get better. Let us know how you are tomorrow. For me (both times) It was worse the second day so It will be interesting to see if you are in worse pain tomorrow or if it gets better. best of luck and don't be afraid to take an advil or something tonight!

#4 Post by **markGl** » Fri May 15, 2009 5:02 am

Morning all, thanks blindboarder and staceyr for the words of encouragement .. this morning its tender slight jaw ache, a bit worse from last night, it does hurt but mostly just a real dull ache deep in jaw, i can say woofing down a bacon burger is out of the question today hah which is good i needed to drop a couple of pounds anyway ( too many

) hah

#5 Post by **beth1966** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:01 am

What exactly IS a 'powerchain'????

Are they used on traditional brackets as well as with self-ligating brackets? Is it just a heavy duty archwire?

Sounds scary to me! (I don't even have braces yet)

#6 Post by **Audra** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:15 am

Explanation from this site:

http://www.archwired.com/power_chains.htm

#7 Post by **Audra** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:17 am

And yes, they can be used with self-ligating brackets.

Fri May 15, 2009 12:11 pm

markGl wrote:Morning all, thanks blindboarder and staceyr for the words of encouragement .. this morning its tender slight jaw ache, a bit worse from last night, it does hurt but mostly just a real dull ache deep in jaw, i can say woofing down a bacon burger is out of the question today hah which is good i needed to drop a couple of pounds anyway ( too many ) hah

hahah ya a bacon burger probably is out of the question right now. give it a few weeks and then try that lol

#9 Post by **delilah** » Fri May 15, 2009 1:37 pm

It will get better. I had a powerchain put on my lowers last time and boy I could feel that tug right away! The next 2-3 days were uncomfortable, but it did get better. And Wow! Those spaces were gone almost overnight! That makes it worth it.

Best,
Del

#10 Post by **staceyr2** » Tue May 19, 2009 1:25 pm

Just got my first "full" powerchain. Others were just partials, on two or three teeth, this one is from left back molar around to right 2nd premolar. Only the top teeth though. Six hours later, and they hurt, and my overjet is nearly gone. My top teeth are touching my bottom brackets when I bite down. (Not too hard though, it hurts!) Back to mush for the next few days or so! I hope I can still brush my teeth. I remember the other powerchains made my teeth hurt so bad that brushing was absolutely excrusiating, forget about the Waterpik!

#11 Post by **newsboysgrl777** » Tue May 19, 2009 6:23 pm

Just got a '6 chain'-er and so far, just slight pressure, but more so from getting the copper ni-ti wire, which is a much heavier grade than the starting wire. Just waiting for the pain because it's been MY experience to have discomfort if there's even a possibility of it. Darn sensitive mouth!!

And, speaking of which, I had a molar band cleat bend back out that started re-slicing my tongue...got that taken care of today...now the stinkin' WIRE is poking into that side of my cheek!!! Can I EVER win? EVER?! Just ONCE can I NOT have to make an 'emergency appt' in between adjustments?