Damon wearers... Talk to me about "square" wire.

[Woobster]

I'll be gettin "square" wires on Wednesday, and my ortho mentioned that this is usually when people experience the most discomfort (other than the initial week of having braces).

Are you in "square" wires? Have you had them? What was your experience like?

Thanks!

[chichi]

My first square wire was rough. I could not believe the jaw pain and I had to go back to soft foods for about a week. It was the most painful part of this so process so far (and I've had several more rectangular wires, elastics, and a powerchain since then).

On the other hand, there are people on here who have said their first rectangular wires were no worse than any other adjustment, so you may have no discomfort whatsoever. Everyone is different and you won't know until it happens to you.

[msw]

I'll be moving into rectangular wires at my next adjustment in April. Not looking forward to that.

[beckyboo0205]

I think my first rectangle wire was the worst too. Not to scare you... it was just a few day of bad pain just on my top arch where my rectangle was.

[Woobster]

I'll have them on my uppers and lowers.

I really have had very little pain with my braces, so I'm kinda hoping I'm one of the lucky ones. Just trying to prepare myself in case I'm not though. I'll definitely have some soft foods on hand.

[catwanabee]

I guess it depends on the person. But for me my first square wire which i got on my first adjustment were a bit tight for a few hours, but no pain/soreness.

[TMJJill]

The square wires are much stiffer, which can lend to more pain for some.

I don't recall much of an issue with my first square wires. The thicker ones took a bit more getting used to.

I didn't have much problem with the square wires in general for treatment. It was when they turned into 'pokies' out the back that they bothered me the most. They dug holes in my cheek. I think my problems with this were much worse and more frequent than most people though.

I wouldn't stress about the change. It is a step towards your final results.

[sirwired]

Pretty much everyone (Damons or no) gets square wires. The round wires line up your teeth along the arch in a nice, neat, row. The square wires engage the "dialed in" angle of your "bracket prescription" to render them vertical. (Incidentally, while self-ligating brackets (like Damons) appear to let the round wires do their job faster due to reduced friction along the archwire, they appear to be slower for this stage, where you want the brackets to be dug into wire, and the increased bracket-to-bracket distance is a liability because the wire can't induce the same amount of torque.)

Keep in mind that this stage of treatment is usually never as quick or cosmetically dramatic as the round wires, but they are still doing important work so you have a bite that is healthy, in addition to good-looking.

[butlerbulldogfan]

I went to a square wire a couple weeks ago. I cant tell you if it hurts or not. When they changed it that day and the next day I felt alot of pressure and soreness. Couple days later I had to get a hook bent on a bracket that was poking my cheek and the bracket popped off so they had to take the wire out and when they put it back in my teeth didnt hurt anymore for some reason. The only thing I have noticed since then is back behind my upper teeth the arch or pallete whatever the gum part is has tension and is sore. Other then that I didnt notice much of a difference.

[djspeece]

Pretty much everyone (Damons or no) gets square wires. The round wires line up your teeth along the arch in a nice, neat, row. The square wires engage the "dialed in" angle of your "bracket prescription" to render them vertical. (Incidentally, while self-ligating brackets (like Damons) appear to let the round wires do their job faster due to reduced friction along the archwire, they appear to be slower for this stage, where you want the brackets to be dug into wire, and the increased bracket-to-bracket distance is a liability because the wire can't induce the same amount of torque.)

Keep in mind that this stage of treatment is usually never as quick or cosmetically dramatic as the round wires, but they are still doing important work so you have a bite that is healthy, in addition to good-looking.

That is one of the best descriptions I have read about round vs. square wires for the Damons.

[Woobster]

I agree... Thank you for the description, sirwired!

The bottom rectangular wire went on this morning and those teeth are definitely sore. I had a couple of small spaces open up on top over the past few weeks, so I'm back in power chains (3 to 3) and have another round wire there. The rectangular wire will go on top in a few weeks.

I have two lingual brackets on a couple of upper teeth in order to keep them from turning. Those things are making me a little crazy!

[Level75]

I know this is old post but I came in looking for others who are finding the move the square wires really painful. I don't have any of the cuts and sores from the initial time but I can't bite down without pain. I think it's worse than the initial wires, I literally can't chew anything.

[assertives]

I know this is old post but I came in looking for others who are finding the move the square wires really painful. I don't have any of the cuts and sores from the initial time but I can't bite down without pain. I think it's worse than the initial wires, I literally can't chew anything.

My teeth were really painful when I first got square wires too. It was so painful that I wasn't able to brush my teeth or floss properly without pain, let alone eat. My jaw would also throb a little. That pain went away about 3 to 4 days later.

[pcspinheiro]

I'm getting self-ligating braces next Monday, top arch only. I'm hoping that I won't have to go into square wires, so as to mess with my teeth the least possible. Just trying to fix some undue contacts, missing and wrongfully extracted premolar and unnatural smile (plus relapse), all thanks to my former ortho that neither respected my simple orthodontic requests nor seemed to have a clue about what she was doing... I hope I can get away with 8-12 moths of top braces only. Otherwise, to truly fix everything (I'm not sure some things can ever be undone), I'm looking at ~3 years and a whole lot of pain...