Does this mean I'm getting closer to the end??

[miluti]

(Initial quote was 18-24 months, but there's been a delay in closing an extraction gap due to a failed closed coil. Currently 15 months in...)

Last saw my ortho on Dec 15th. Other than the extraction gap (top right canine) that's still closing, they said everything looks good. At my next appointment (Feb 12...labelled "PAN" in the appointment system) they want to take x-rays again (which they haven't done since my initial consultation) and talked about re-positioning some brackets...all so they can "ensure the roots are where they need to be" and "for some fine-tuning". They said I would be there for over an hour (my normal appointments are 15 minutes to 30 minutes).

Could this possibly mean I'm approaching the end??? Anyone have this experience? How long did you have them on for afterwards, if so?

[djspeece]

I think you are in the home stretch but don't get your hopes up for a quick ending within the next few weeks. My ortho said a similar thing about the roots -- they tend to get drug along the jaw and are a bit canted-- and they should be upright. In my case it was several more months or slightly more for everything to get tweaked. But then again my teeth were slow to move, so hopefully you will be done more quickly. Best of luck to you!

[miluti]

I think you are in the home stretch but don't get your hopes up for a quick ending within the next few weeks. My ortho said a similar thing about the roots -- they tend to get drug along the jaw and are a bit canted-- and they should be upright. In my case it was several more months or slightly more for everything to get tweaked. But then again my teeth were slow to move, so hopefully you will be done more quickly. Best of luck to you!

Thanks! Definitely not planning my post-braces photoshoot or anything like that, but it certainly makes one hopeful. Mine have moved fairly quickly overall (considering what needed to be done) so I am hopeful the roots aren't too bad. We shall see, though!

[SinkFullOfDinner]

I had the same question last Dec when my ortho did an update panoramic x-ray (probably the “PAN” you saw in your file). I got feedback that it’s usually done toward the end of treatment, but other replies said they still had 6 more months to go or that they never had an update done. I guess it’s all over the board because I just wrapped up last month, so I still had a year to go after they did the update scan, but I doubt that’s typical.

The quick answer is that it may mean that you’re getting close (hopefully/usually), but it depends on why the ortho ordered the update and what they see. If it all looks good, you’re probably near the end. If there are a few things they see that they aren’t happy with, well…welcome to my fun! I definitely don’t want to dampen your excitement, because it’s probably a really positive clue and milestone for you! But like just about every other question we have, you’ll need to ask your ortho whether you should read much into the update request.

One encouraging thing IMO is that they scheduled yours two months from now instead of the same day or before Feb at the least. Maybe I’m guilty of wishful thinking, but I’d think if there were concerns about how the plan was progressing, they wouldn’t wait to check. In your case, it just seems more routine than out of concern.

Good luck! Hopefully it’s the more typical “just checking” panoramic for you!