Metal Mouth Message Board

After a month I went for my first adjustment. The ortho tells me that we need to keep leveling before we really try and start moving things. So in a month he can at least put a stronger wire on the bottom he says. But 2 months to even start moving teeth huh? Is this typical for treatment? He explained leveling as pretty much aligning the roots up correctly to get the most effective treatment. When I groaned a little, he laughed and said, "Yeah it's a long process."

level, align and rotate is generally the first phase of active treatment. this must be completed before other movements (such as those required to correct the bite, etc) are done. If you try and jump the gun you can get unwanted movements and make your treatment longer and not as good. The cool part is this is generally when you see your teeth moving alot and it is very exciting.

drrick wrote:The cool part is this is generally when you see your teeth moving alot and it is very exciting.

Really? I was under the impression that I would not notice much movement until the stronger wires are on and what not. I have not really noticed any at this point, but like I said, I am only twenty something days in. I do feel them being sore however......

The teeth are moving. You look t them every day so it isnt as noticeable. Also 20 days is not that long. More important than the tooth moving at this stage is the fact that the Periodontal ligament (PDL) surrounding each tooth is getting big and fat so when larger wires are placed teh teeth will move more quickly. You will often see dramatic movements during the 2nd and 3rd month of treatment.

drrick wrote: More important than the tooth moving at this stage is the fact that the Periodontal ligament (PDL) surrounding each tooth is getting big and fat so when larger wires are placed teh teeth will move more quickly.

Is this something that you can see? I feel like I can notice that the white on the bottoms of my teeth are becoming more prevalent or something. I could be completely just seeing things though......

You've gotta take pictures and compare every couple of weeks. You'll never see anything staring in the mirror every few minutes.

oh man... That's kinda disappointing. I am very impatient and was hoping to see movement right away haha well i guess I will have to be patient

Yes, jambo, you have to be a patient ortho patient. Or, at least that's what I keep telling myself (and I've only had braces for 2.5 weeks).

Lynley[/quote]

HEy i gotta tell ya, DrRIck is right, the first 3 months are the most exciting part, as that is when the teeth move alot and hell ya you can see the movement!

Of course u cant tell by just looking at it, you must take pic. Trust me, take some pics now and check back on after 1 or 2 months, u ll be amazed!

Oh ya, checing your teeth in front of the mirror won't help moving the teeth

I am such an anomaly. I didin't see huge changes the first few months, or any time. My ortho says my teeth just don't move very fast. Also, my teeth were pretty straight to begin with. In pictures they looked perfectly straight. So I guess that's besides the point since the goal of my braces was to retract my teeth. But, 13 months in, and she has yet to retract. She's still working on the levling and rotating and all that jazz. Especially the levelling. The bottom teeth still look like a small roller coaster and my top teeth, for some reason the small molar on one side will not straighten out w/the rest of the teeth.

Dr. Rick, if you're reading this.. I had a question about this. Is it possible that the bracket is just not placed correctly on my teeth, and that's why it's taking forever to level? I'm thinking, maybe it's as levelled as it's giong to get but it doesn't look like it b/c the bracket is too low or too high, or whatever. I almost just want to tell my ortho, just move the bracket so it's straight and then start to retract!!! lol.. i'm joking, yet half serious at the same time b/c i do wonder, after 13 months shouldn't the levelling have been complete??? i will admit that it was way more crooked than before, and yeah, maybe it'll be completely straight in another 10 months. but is this normal to take THIS long to level???

if the wire is still wavy then leveling has not occurred. There is more to leveling than correcting roataions and some can take a long time (leveling deep curve of spee in a deep bite case for example) Everything needs to be leveled before you retract or you can get significant unwanted movement during retraction.

You arent by chance on any bisphosphonates for osteoporosis are you? That can really slow things down.

drrick wrote:if the wire is still wavy then leveling has not occurred. There is more to leveling than correcting roataions and some can take a long time (leveling deep curve of spee in a deep bite case for example) Everything needs to be leveled before you retract or you can get significant unwanted movement during retraction.

You arent by chance on any bisphosphonates for osteoporosis are you? That can really slow things down.

no, i don't take anything except for vitamin d. although i'd like to take calcium. when my tads kept failing, my ortho asked me if my intake of calcium was sufficient whichi made me think that my calcium levels were not that good or somehting. ??

So I am a bit shy of 2 months in and recently had my 2nd adjustment. Still leveling away he told me. By my next adjustment in about a month, I should at least be able to put the strong wire on my bottom teeth he says. I still can't "notice" any movement that's taken place, and my god is it frustrating. Argh........gonna take a pic later and compare to when I first got them on I guess.....

gary wrote:So I am a bit shy of 2 months in and recently had my 2nd adjustment. Still leveling away he told me. By my next adjustment in about a month, I should at least be able to put the strong wire on my bottom teeth he says. I still can't "notice" any movement that's taken place, and my god is it frustrating. Argh........gonna take a pic later and compare to when I first got them on I guess.....

I know it's easier said than done but somebody who is in month 13 or 14 and is still leveling, you'll understand, lol. It takes time and maybe it might take a few more months.. but it helps the other following processes go better for you. Hang in there! I'd love to see before and after pics.

Ortho takes patience or you will drive yourself crazy.

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

I make a point of not looking at my teeth in the mirror. I really just tune them out and ignore them, otherwise I get obsessive.

I take pictures every month or so, and I like looking at them and comparing the differences. You will notice things in pictures that you would never see in the mirror.