Braced for 5 weeks...but no progress!

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#1 Post by **pricklypear** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 3:46 pm

I've been braced for 5 weeks. I was in pain for a few days and a couple of weeks ago I had my bottom wire replaced to a 'harder' one which caused additional pain. So far the only change I've noticed is that when I bite down, one of the severely rotated teeth sinks down into the gum (very slightly). But other than that, I have seen absolutely no change in terms of alignment. My teeth look exactly same as the day I got the braces on. Keeping in mind that I have extracted two 5's at the top (for which the gap has not begun to close) and a crooked canine which is still in its original place, how much do I have to wait to see some change?(also, I have self-ligating braces). My first check-up/adjustment is still a few weeks away and it's frustrating that nothing has changed.

Thanks

#2 Post by **Bellalalala** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:00 pm

Don't stress, I barely saw *any* movement for the first month or so.
It was driving me crazy because my dentist said my teeth should move quickly. He put on powerchains to speed up the closing of IPR spaces, and still nothing.
At one point he looked concerned and said "this isn't what I expected, so we'll just have to see what happens."

Then *bam* out of nowhere, they started to move!
I couldn't believe it, my teeth basically straightened out over 3 weeks.

Now, I'm not saying I can predict what will happen with you, I'm just saying that you never know what will happen. Sometimes teeth sit there and seem to do nothing, other times they suddenly fall into place like dominos.

Do not stress about it. Braces are tried and true, they *will* move your teeth.
If there's one thing I've learned, it's that teeth move in mysterious ways and they move on their own schedule, but they do move.

#3 Post by **haywire** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:24 pm

same here, almost no progress in the first month, but after the first adjustment teeth started to move pretty fast

#4 Post by **Jewles** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:30 pm

I was the same, for 5 and a half weeks nothiing happened. Then over a period of 2 days before my firth adjustment it was like a miracle occured and everything straightened over night!

#5 Post by **haleyj** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:43 pm

If you're teeth are hurting they are probably moving, maybe you just can't see exactly how, I did see progress in the first two months, mostly because I had an impacted tooth and I saw that it was moving on up to be with the rest of my teeth, after I got new wires on my teeth rotated a lot more and I could see gaps that I never had before and now I have power chains to close those gaps. Keep us updated!

#6 Post by **pricklypear** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:01 pm

wow. I'm looking forward to see the changes! Thanks for the replies!

#7 Post by **drrick** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:43 am

Things have changed you just arent notincing it because you look at your teeth every day. I often show pts their before pic at their first visit when they say 'nothing moved' and they always say 'I guess they did move'

Also the first month much of what is happening is goiung on around the roots widening the ligament around the teeth (PDL) to set the stage for faster movement over the next few visits. The teeth move the most in the 2nd and 3rd month IMO.

#8 Post by **drrick** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:48 am

Things have changed you just arent notincing it because you look at your teeth every day. I often show pts their before pic at their first visit when they say 'nothing moved' and they always say 'I guess they did move'

Also the first month much of what is happening is goiung on around the roots widening the ligament around the teeth (PDL) to set the stage for faster movement over the next few visits. The teeth move the most in the 2nd and 3rd month IMO.