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So i got my expander put in on Jan 20th, today is feb 11 so its been 3 weeks. I have what seems like a gaint gap in my two front teeth...like big enough that i can feel my top lip through it. I have love hate relationship with the gap. For one I am happy its there and i know the expander is working...however it looks sooo bad. My teethe are so so crowded so now i have crowding and a huge space. Its just embarressing. I work in the music business and people tend to be extra cruel and jugmental. Anyways my question is how long did it take for you guys for the gap to close with braces? My appointment with the ortho is next tuesday and they told me if all looks good they will fit me for my braces then! yay...fingers crossed.just curiously how much longer i have to go on with the big space.
Even without expander it's normal that gaps show up/disappear throughout treatment. Especially in the beginning where you will see a lot of movement. The only thing that will effectively prevent a gap in the front teeth is if your ortho wire them up so that they can't move apart. Being at the beginning of your treatment I think that it's unlikely that your ortho will do that simply because your teeth need to be better aligned first.
Although I didn't have the expander experience my front teeth also moved a lot in the beginning and 2-3 months in my treatment 1-2 mm gap came out of nowhere which looked a bit funny. I had this gap for some months until my ortho wired my 2 front teeth making gaps impossible.
be patient b/c the gap is only temporary. Good luck with the braces!
Danish
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009
The gap should close fairly quickly once you have stopped expanding. When I had SARPE my gap wasn't huge, but it was there- and went within a week after I stopped turning the expander (sans braces). You'll just have to wait and see. And if it doesn't close on its own your ortho will sort it out
I know it's a pain, but just think how good your teeth will look once they're all straightened out and not crowded!
The ortho didn't tell me exactly how much he wanted my jaw to expand. I am turning once a day for 30 days. As i said the gap is pretty big now so i am hoping thats good news.
