Metal Mouth Message Board

I have a question for the message board, and I apologise in advance if it's been addressed before!

What I'd like to know is, how quickly can I expect to see that my teeth have moved? Do teeth move only in the week or so after adjustment (when it hurts the most!) or are they continually being moved between each adjustment? I've read all about the way braces are supposed to work but I admit I'm still a little confused! One of the reasons I'm asking this is I've just been braced and I'm really hoping to see some proof that it's working but maybe I'm hoping for too much, too soon - and I know it's different for everybody as well.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Well, the wishy-washy answer is "it depends".

But if it's any consolation, my teeth moved tremendously during the first 6 weeks. It was gradual (didn't happen all in the first 2 weeks), but definitely noticeable. It helps to take pictures of your teeth, maybe every week or two in the beginning, so you can see the more subtle changes.

Within about 2 weeks I could tell that things were moving when I flossed but I could only tell by the way flossing felt different.
Its been just over a month and last night I could visibly tell that one tooth has moved. It used to be crowded and kind of overlapped another tooth. Now its in line with the rest of them. I was really excited when I noticed it
This is the first visible change that I've had. Give it some time and things will start moving. Its pretty amazing when it actually starts to happen.

Hi BracedLondon,
I have had my braces on for 3 weeks now, and I am just noticing my front teeth finally straightening out! But before that, I could definately feel the difference with how the floss fit through other teeth. Like all the others said, it will depend and be very gradual. Even though my top teeth are moving, my bottom teeth feel like they haven't at all.

as soon as the braces are put on, there is subtle movement. i know my bite changed immediately.

as for actual spaces in the teeth, that depends. the best way to notice movement is not to dwell on if movement is happening. you'll notice gradual movement but the ease/difficulty of flossing between the teeth. after that, you'll notice the spaces in the mirror.

just be patient and let it happen. take solace in that fact that you have braces and your teeth will move...after all, they have too

I've been braced for three weeks and have noticed movement. My front tooth overlapped the other front tooth and it is now noticeably straighter. I can also floss between two teeth that I couldn't before. I'm anxious for my ortho appointment so they can tell me how much improvement has already taken place that I can't even notice.

Hey! I noticed movement 2 weeks later! But sometimes it takes longer, on my upper jaw it took like a month or even more! They will eventually move!

Good luck,

Joanna

I noticed subtle things in flossing really soon, and it was only a couple weeks before I saw major progress.
I pumped myself up, checking daily for movement. As soon as I let it go and waited patiently, I started to notice the changes.

When I got the braces on, the teeth looked more crooked with the thin wires and while that was really hard, three months later I have people asking when I get them off because the front teeth have straightened so dramatically. I still have extraction gaps and some work on the bottom, but that noticeable change sure feels good!

I noticed changes like 10 days after getting braces. The changes were not huge but I noticed that flossing was easier in between some teeth. After about 5wks I noticed my front tooth had slowly but surely moved a bit. It was very,very overlapped on top of my other front tooth.After 12 weeks things moved dramaticaly! I felt the same way as you, I wanted to see movement right away in the beginning.Teeth don't have to hurt to let you know that they are moving. The best way that I noticed movement was to take pictures every 4weeks.


Gennel

Thanks for all these responses - they're really helpful. I think it might be more difficult to see the changes in my mouth as some teeth lean back and some stick forward, but they don't actually cross over as such - not sure of the technical term for this! Anyway, I think something might be happening but I'm sure that the advice to try not to get too obsessive about it is right!

Thanks again!

To those who aren't braced: A watched pot never boils.
To those who ARE braced: A watched tooth never moves.

?

X.

Hey, all I can say is just wait and see. For me I noticed within the first 3 weeks that my teeth were moving.
What I did, just for inspiration and when they hurt a lot, was to make a slide slow on my computer of my teeth. I know that sounds freaky - but it's not. I've taken pictures of my teeth pre-braces, and after every adjustment. While sometimes you don't really notice the changes on a day by day basis I found that with my slideshow I found that there were huge differences just bewtween adjustments!

Like everyone else has said... flossing and photos are key. I started noticing how easy it was getting to floss (now I can floss where I never could before--not a big deal for some, but for me this is major!). After the flossing got easier I could see where teeth were starting to line up everyday in the mirror and especially in the pictures I've been taking after every appointment. I can't believe how quick things are moving--sometimes even in a matter of hours. I went to work one day (looked in the mirror before I left) and everything was normal--I came home and there was a huge (okay, not huge but noticeable) gap in my bottom teeth (where there used to be severe overcrowding)... I couldn't believe it, but it was there. It'll move much faster than you think and likely when you're not looking!

Well. I experienced my biting changed 7 hours after my uppers were put on! They were put on at 11am that day. Lunch was not a problem. But dinner at 6 was a nightmare because I chipped one of my teeth! I also noticed the flossing in some areas are quite different within a week!