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Wow! I'm 18 months into treatment and have about 8 months left to go. I went to the ortho on Friday and was surprised with steel ties on my front six teeth on my upper arch and powerchains on top of the steel ties. I instantly felt a ton more pressure when they tied me in steel and then put the power chains on. It seems weird that they only put steel ties and chains on my front six teeth? I know they know what they are doing though.
I was also pleasantly surprised with starting the process of wearing elastics. I have to say that this is the post pain I have been in. I feel like my first 18 months in braces were a cake walk compared to this! I feel like I got punched in the mouth! I've been icing my mouth and taking Advil non stop! Pain is good though...means movement!!
Check out my blog by clicking on www.
Initial Consult/Molds: 9/10/08
8 Spacers: 10/17/08
Brace Day: 10/24/08
First Adjustment: 12/5/08
Sentence: 2-3 years
The steel wire on the social six is meant to hold them together as a unit. I'm assuming that you have elastics going from your upper canines to lower molars, or something like that, so the steel ties reduce the gaps that form between the social six.
I hear ya! I've been elastic'd up since September - "over the hill" pattern my ortho calls it, which is basically from the back bottom tooth, over the top third tooth and back down to the bottom fourth. Yuck! My mouth hasn't opened more than a a centimeter in the last 6 months!
Got my first powerchain over metal lacing too and I've got horrible dull achy pain.
