Metal Mouth Message Board

well basically i trusted smilecare with my teeth but i don't think they know what they're really doing... one reason is cuz on the first day that i decided i wanted to be with them (Jan 14), they put 4 brackets on my top teeth claiming that it was sort of an introduction. then afterwards they scheduled me for another appointment on March 1st which was pretty damn far away. after many attempts on trying to get an earlier appointment, I went on March 1st and got four spacers put in (2 on top, 2 on bottom).

now my next appointment is on April 3... more than a month away, meaning that I have to deal with spacers now 'till April 3rd. now i might be wrong but I was doing some research about spacers after I got them in and the majority of the ppl who had them, got them off after 1-2 weeks. im getting pretty worried that the orthodontist doesn't know what they're doing because right now i have 4 spacers between my teeth and 4 random brackets on my top.

i dont know if i should be worried or not but having spacers for a month is kinda freaking me out....

hey

seems a bit weird to me. i had my spacers for a week and then the whole thing put on at once, top and bottom

are the brackets on the same teeth as the spacers? cos usually the spacers are put in to get a bracket around the whole tooth not just a bracket on the outside.

that might be how they do things. i have read on here that it seems a lot of people get the top first then the bottom later on but here in NZ they just seem to put it all on at once.

good luck

I had my spacers for 2 weeks but the tech told me I'm lucky because some people get it for a month. It also seems to me that the office you go to is pretty busy and since your appointments are spread so far apart it might be just because there are no earlier dates and not lack of knowledge or experience from your ortho.

What is a little weird to me is why they only put on 4 brackets? I mean maybe every ortho has their own way of doing their job but I never heard of anyone get only 4 brackets and keep it that way for 6 weeks. I know as an "introduction" I got a white, very thin wire and that my ortho said was my "training wire", to get my teeth ready and used to the pressure, at my 2nd adjustment though it was then switched to a regular metal wire.

Maybe others had similar experiences as you, but otherwise maybe there's a point to perhaps get a second opinion or at least voice our your concerns to your ortho. Good luck!

If i were you id get a 2nd opinion. Usually you can get a consult for free. I belive you should get at least 2 consults before choosing an ortho. I cannot belive they put on only four brackets!? I have heard of getting spacers a month before you get your braces, but 4 brackets? Seems odd to me also. I got 6 spacers and top and bottom braced all in one visit.


like SinOnYourLips said maybe they are just busy with lots of appointments. But if you are unsure id seek a 2nd opinion before they really do anything to your teeth.The 4 brackets are not gonna mess your teeth up if there isnt even a wire.

I also had "training braces" as my husband called them. I had 6 brackets put on--upper canines, lower canines and lower 1st bicuspids. I had a thin wire on my lower canine to bicuspid. My ortho said they do this with all their adult patients who need extractions. They wanted me to live with the brackets and wire for a few weeks to make sure that I could deal with them before I got my 4 bicuspids pulled----because once those were out, there was NO going back. Nice of them, I thought. (They said they have about 5% of patients who decide not to go through with it.)

So I had my "training braces" for quite awhile. I waited the two weeks they suggested, then had extractions, then it was another 2-3 weeks or so before I got spacers, then I had spacers for about two and a half weeks, then finally got wired up, partially, but that's another story.....

As for the spacers being in for a month--I don't know about that. Maybe that's just the way this office does things. Can you give them a call and ask if this is "normal" for all their patients?

aaronk wrote:well basically i trusted smilecare with my teeth but i don't think they know what they're really doing... one reason is cuz on the first day that i decided i wanted to be with them (Jan 14), they put 4 brackets on my top teeth claiming that it was sort of an introduction. then afterwards they scheduled me for another appointment on March 1st which was pretty damn far away. after many attempts on trying to get an earlier appointment, I went on March 1st and got four spacers put in (2 on top, 2 on bottom).

now my next appointment is on April 3... more than a month away, meaning that I have to deal with spacers now 'till April 3rd. now i might be wrong but I was doing some research about spacers after I got them in and the majority of the ppl who had them, got them off after 1-2 weeks. im getting pretty worried that the orthodontist doesn't know what they're doing because right now i have 4 spacers between my teeth and 4 random brackets on my top.

i dont know if i should be worried or not but having spacers for a month is kinda freaking me out....

This sounds a bit strange to me. Especially the spacers part of it. Usually spacers are put in pairs on each molar. 2 on the lower right, 2 on the lower left, 2 on the upper right, etc.....

You only got 4 spacers total? Where exactly did those spacers get put on? I'd have a 2nd opinion with another ortho, just to be sure.

yea this seems kind of fishy too me. i think im going to call them and ask what's up. it shouldn't be taking this long to get wired up as i don't need any extractions or any other things done. just spacers.