Metal Mouth Message Board

I had my Damon 3's put on Nov 6th and my first adjustment isn't scheduled until Jan 16th. That makes it 2 1/2 months since braces went on. My concern is I had lots of movement the first 3 weeks and now nothing seems to be happening and my teeth feel fine, no soreness at all.

Is it the norm to go so long until your first adjustment and since my teeth feel fine are things still moving? I like the idea of longer time between adjustments, but this is soooo long to go without the reasurrance that things are going OK. What do you guys think?

While it is a little longer than average it is not exessively long. Your teeth will probably continue to move, just not as fast as before and nothing you will notice. Be glad that at your next adjustment your teeth will be ready to move again. I was always glad when all the soreness was gone before the next appointment.

Fancycat

It's funny you should post this as I was just thinking the same. Mine went on on Nov 10th and my first adjustment is also on Jan 16th. I noticed lots of initial movement but now nothing, no soreness or anything. I would love to know why the self ligating have longer between adjustments, I feel jealous of those people on 6 week appointments as I feel maybe they may make quicker progress or that things can get moving in a different direction.

Regards
Joney

I'm in Damon 3's and this time table you mention is pretty typical for me. Whenever I get a new wire (adjustment) I usually have to wait about 10 weeks to see the ortho again. And sometimes nothing happens at the next appointment.

As far as the moving/soreness, my experience has been similar too. It seems like there's a lot of movement in the first week or so, and then nothing. I think this may be because it takes time for your mouth/jaw to build all the new material around the moved teeth and roots - before they're moved again. I wouldn't worry though, I've been in them for over 9 months now and the results are fantastic. Even with the prolonged time between appointments.

It seems like your teeth aren't moving, but they ARE!

The wire, being a heat activated memory wire, is trying to go back to it's original position of "arch shaped". As long as that wire is still active, your teeth are still moving. I had my original lower wire stay active for 21 weeks!

Something else that will make you feel better: as for the lack of pain, you don't have to have pain, or even discomfort at all for the teeth to move. Actually, the teeth are moving more freely when there is no pain.

The reason for the long time between adjustments is that there are no ligs to change. The ligs break down over time changing their holding abilities so ortho's like to change them every 6-8 weeks or so. Not always, but usually. But even with traditional brackets the span between adjustments has gotten longer because of the memory wire. SEeing the ortho more frequently will NOT make the process go faster.

I agree with all of you in your frustration in the length between adjustments. I used to be so annoyed by that! But for the last 7 months I've been seen every 4 weeks. Once you're into the "detail phase" you will be in the ortho's chair more frequently.

Mind you, I am no expert. I've just been in Damons for 20 months and been reading these boards for 2 years.

Thanks you guys, I feel much better now. Monday is my day off and between cleaning the house and errands I have plenty of time to look in the mirror and wait for something to happen.

Joney, let me know how it goes on adjustment day! My appointment is in the morning. I hope we get a new wire!

Take Care

It's interesting to hear others' experiences here who've had braces for that bit longer.

It may sound silly but I didn't know that my wires are heat activated. Are all wires heat activated? Does drinking warm liquids hurry them up? I thought only certain wires are heat activated. I have Damon 3s, do they have heat activated wires? I also didn't know about the lig changes being the reason for more frequent visits, it makes more sense now.

Congrats jennelee on your release date.

Thanks Joney!

Usually the first wires are the heat activated ones. If you drink warm liquids, you can sometimes feel more pressure.

The asisstant at my ortho's office who did my records (not my regular assistant) said that you can speed things along by drinking warm liquids, but the ortho didn't give me any such advice. When I asked my regular assistant, she just sort of giggled.

I don't know if it will speed it up significantly or at all. Sorry!

I've moved on to stainless steel wires and have been in them for a little over a year now.

I also don't think bracket type has any baring on the type of wire used. Damon's certainly use heat activated wires and my kids had them with heir traditional braces as well.

But even with traditional brackets the span between adjustments has gotten longer because of the memory wire. SEeing the ortho more frequently will NOT make the process go faster.

That all depends on what is happening with your teeth at any given time. I have ceramics/metal and have been going for adjustments every two weeks for several months now to close my extraction gaps. During these appointments my ortho examines my teeth carefully and always changes the powerchain and extra elastics he's using. Often he will also change the wire and at my last adjustment did build ups of my bottom molars. The progress I am seeing with these two week appointments is amazing.

Yes, I could go in less frequently (he would be fine with that too as he knows not all his patients can make it in so often) but it would most certainly lengthen my treatment time.

And there are times when coming in sooner will really just be "spinning your wheels" and gaining you nothing.

Personally I like the idea of being seen by my orthodontist at fairly frequent intervals - I think the longest I've gone between appointments since starting treatment has been about five weeks. I don't see this as a waste of time at all -- it gives my ortho the opportunity to monitor my teeth more closely and spend more time considering my particular situation (which is somewhat complex).

Of course, I'm one of the lucky ones who has a wonderful ortho with a wonderful staff.