Metal Mouth Message Board

WiredNana wrote:I just had my 6 week adjustment yesterday....and mentioned to the assistant that I noticed that whenever I would have a cup of hot coffee or tea that I could feel the archwires tighten up and put added pressure on my teeth.......she just gave me a blank look..... then mentioned that it was probably the NASA designed wires I have.....HUH!???

I do recall being told in the beginning about 'heat activated wires', but this whole Ortho. thing was just Greek-to-me, so didn't think too much about it.....

Anyone else 'tighten-up' when drinking anything hot?

deb

Sure do, Deb. Weird, isn't it?

Sorry to report I never noticed any change to the wires from drinking hot liquids. I didn't stay in that wire very long at all.

I have NiTi wires and I'm not sure if its related to the heat, but I do experience a tightness in the morning more so than other times of the day. Just got back from my first adjustment. I got a few wire ties to rotate some teeth on the bottom (dissapointed that I didn't get them on the top) Anyway, he was going on about how great NiTi is because he can wire tie them real tight and it will still maintain the limited constant force that he wants. Also, there was some discussion about ceramic brackets while a new assistant was being trained - the senior assistant said that they were harder to work with and were more fragile.

Bianca wrote:'Would keeping my mouth closed encourage more movement in my teeth?

I'd say this depends on the weather

I had a thermal wire for a while. I didn't notice any more tightness with hot drinks, but it did feel funny when it was cold....like with ice cream.