Metal Mouth Message Board

Just had my second adjustment yesterday, exactly 4 months since being braced. Not quite as painful as the 1st time, but it still hurt. They put in a longer wire that reaches back to my rear molars rather than just the first ones. So now ALL of my teeth are involved in the process, which is good because my back teeth were starting to slant outward and cause me to bite my cheeks. Those back teeth are hurting today now that they're under pressure for the first time! I know that'll end soon. Experience really pays off!

Oh yeah, they also did a little tooth shaping, which I was leery of. I don't like the idea of enamel being ground off my teeth! But they said it doesn't hurt anything. Are they right?

Also, I have a chain spanning both the top and bottom teeth--from one end to the other. Before, they just had a few short ones in different places. Now it's everywhere! What exactly does that do that the ties and archwire doesn't?

I beleive powerchains are used primarily for closing gaps

For closing gaps? I don't really have gaps where they put the chains before. And now they've got 2 long chains covering every tooth in my mouth. There are a few gaps though, and they have closed up nicely so far.