How long will it take to fill an extraction gap?

[KayKay]

Bicuspid broke in a fall in March - and it was extracted. Was an extra bicuspid - thus my over-crowded upper left side.

Now that I'm in the heaviest wire on top, the pressure has been cranked up to move the molar behind the gap - forward.

The teeth in front of the gap - four of them - are wired together. The gap has a tight coil (?) piece (what is the name for all of this?) that is shortened with each visit between the two brackets on each side of the gap.

Now, I'm back in elastics, with a small, heavy elastic attached on the molar behind the gap, and the left canine bottom tooth.

I'm wearing elastics 12 hours a day.

These teeth have been in these spots for years. I'm almost 59 years old. How long will it take to drag that back second bicuspid/molar forward? Is this a year long process?

[Bracesat57]

Hi KayKay, good question. They definitely will move. How long? I am guessing no one can answer that question exactly.

I had braces in my 20's. Two lower bicuspids extracted. Over the years one side has reopened probably 3mm (not exactly sure) and the canine in front of that space also leaned forward. Other than that my bottom arch was pretty straight.

Fast forward to now. Braces on for 8 months. Canine is straight but I have several other gaps on the lower arch (fanned out) but all are straight. Now I am wearing a power chain starting 6 weeks ago from back molar to back molar. They are closing up the gaps. Very slightly but they are definitely closing. Of course, looking in the mirror every several hours doesn't help when you are looking for movement. (Ha ha).

Take pictures for yourself. You will probably notice it that way!

[KayKay]

Can you describe a power chain? Is that what I have - wiring teeth together and playing tug-of-war with the tooth that needs to move to close the gap?

Are you in elastics too? What wire is across the gap? I have a coil looking wire.

[amy2015]

I had a premolar extracted and within 4 months there is visible reduction in the space.

However, my ortho has removed the elastic and put a thicker wire in. He said he wanted the roots to move and not tip the tooth with too much pressure.

I think, it is a bit of a juggling act, he has moved his attention to closing my bite and not the gap.

[Bracesat57]

I am not in elastics yet that go from one arch to the other.
A power chain takes the place of the ligs holding the arch wire to the brackets. It sort of looks like a braid that gets hooked from the hook on one molar and they keep putting it on each bracket till it gets to the other side and then attaches to that hook on that molar.
Sort of like an elastic that goes from one side to the other across the lower arch. I go every 4 weeks to have the power chain replaced.

[Candyland]

I had 2 premolars on the top extracted and the gaps took about 6 months to close with continuous power chain use. I had two molars on the bottom that I had previously extracted, so the gaps had been there for several years, and they have been trying to close those for almost 2 1/2 years now. My Ortho said the longer the gaps have been there the longer it will take to close them because the bone has reformed and closed in the area where the tooth was, so essentially you are dragging the other teeth through the bone to close the gap.

[metalat40]

I had extractions at age 39: 2 bicuspids on top, 2 on the bottom. Braces put on a few days later Jan 2014.

I'm almost 18 months in, and my spaces are closed. It took about 13-15 months for most closure to happen. One top side space was slower...pretty much just recently closed. I had the titanium springs, some extra wire configurations, and always power chains. For most of that time, they'd also tie all the teeth together across the front with an elastic thread. It would wrap around a bracket, get stretched to the next bracket, wrapped, etc. I called it my tooth corset, and it was soooo tight.

I'm now down to the power chains. My corset and springs are gone. I've done the elastics (chipmunk then fox then now seal) that I wear 24 hours a day to correct my bite.

Closing the spaces is all very individual. Be patient, as it sounds like the process can vary for everyone.

[deblo]

I had a ~ 3mm gap in front of my bottom premolar as a result of an extraction. It took about 6 months before everything was closed tightly, but my ortho moved one tooth at a time. She would attach powerchains only from my premolar to premolar, then once that moved some- at the next adjustment- she attached the chain from first molar to first molar etc..until it closed. I don't know if this is the normal procedure though.

[djspeece]

I have a similar setup for a reluctant gap left behind when a bad crown had to be replaced. I continue to use elastics on that side only, and the ortho applied a "closing coil" which is attached to a post on the molar, stretched across the gap, then anchored by wrapping a wire around about 3-4 teeth toward the front of the mouth (what I would call anterior). I do not have a power chain across that particular gap, but do have one that is applied on the top from molar to molar (I think the ortho calls the "7 to 7" or something) to hold the line as I finish my sentence, as well as one on the bottom on the opposite side. I have read that you can expect in general for teeth to move about 1 mm per month, but in my case due to my thick skull the progress has been slower. As my ortho likes to joke, "Well Dan, some patients are just more dense than others." I think he still might be a little bitter from when I showed up to an appointment early in my treatment wearing those goofy fake rubber teeth pointing in all directions. I sat quietly in the chair waiting for him, and after he said hello I partially covered my mouth with my hand and said "Andrew I don't think these braces are working out" then gave him a big smile. I thought the tech was going to stroke out. He has a good sense of humor as it turns out.