Bend in archwire?

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#1 Post by **balniusc** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:36 pm

I did a search and didn't find an answer to this particular question.

At my last adjustment my ortho said he was going to put several bends in my archwire (at the next appointment) to adjust the positioning of several top teeth. My questions is - will my archwire be bent like this for the remainder of the treatment? It seems to me if the wire is bent rather than repositioning the brackets then the answer is yes? I don't know which particular wire I have in at the moment but it definitely is rectangle. I'm also 5 months in to a 10 - 12 month treatment, if that makes any difference.

#2 Post by **Audra** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:58 pm

From my experience with my own treatment, rectangle wires with bends do not straighten out. So, that may be your final wire.

I have had brackets re-positioned and I have also received a rectangle wire with bends (suresmile wire). The wire with bends was my final wire and I had it for a really long time because I had jaw surgery. The suresmile wire brought my teeth into their final position. After the jaw surgery when I had the surgical hooks removed, they had to remove the wire (cannot take hooks off the archwire and I had a hook between each bracket) and they put in the exact same wire - with the bends - until I was stabilized, then I had my braces removed.

#3 Post by **classII** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 4:53 pm

Bend in the wire is to move them up or down ( & forward/backward). The bend will be there until the objective has been met. I've had a bend (called step-up or step-down), With a ClassII the lower and upper 4's have over erupted. Step down, on the lowers pushes the front four down and right now I'm a few months in on the tops with a bend at each canine to push the central and lateral incisors up to level it all out. This is a few months of 2.5 years, majority of time attending to heavy movement of all the back teeth. So indeed, it may be viewed as a finishing stage.

#4 Post by **macgirl4ever** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 6:39 pm

I'm so glad someone created a thread for this! My orthodontist said that I would have bends in my archwire as well at my next adjustment. I don't remember this part of treatment from the last time and also wanted to know what the bends were for. While my bite is good some of my teeth don't really meet together, creating small holes between my upper arch and lower arch. Is it likely that is what the bends might be used for?

#5 Post by **Ohkae** » Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:14 pm

I was wondering the same thing.

I have the wire bent in the middle of my two front teeth point upwards like half of a square. I guess they're trying to move them forward?