Metal Mouth Message Board

Has anyone here had IPR done? Is it painful? How long does it take the space to close once the teeth are filed?

I had IPR done one time on one of my front incisors. It was not painful and it was a small space. The ortho needed to do it so the tooth next to it had room to rotate. Space closed in about 7 weeks.

yeah, I've had it done too, on several of my teeth. It is not painful at all. As for closing the gaps, in about a month, my top teeth have almost closed all the gaps, but not my bottom teeth (I have a powerchain on my top and bottom teeth), so I guess the time varies.

TinySmiley wrote:yeah, I've had it done too, on several of my teeth. It is not painful at all. As for closing the gaps, in about a month, my top teeth have almost closed all the gaps, but not my bottom teeth (I have a powerchain on my top and bottom teeth), so I guess the time varies.

How much space was created between your teeth?

I just had it done a bit last week. They do a bit to my bottom teeth each time I go. My teeth are kind of triangle shaped (more narrow on the bottom) so he just evened it out a bit. My bottoms were stuck due to the shape and not moving so now they're all lined up. It didn't hurt at all, and he probably only created about 1mm worth of space.

nifer237 wrote:I just had it done a bit last week. They do a bit to my bottom teeth each time I go. My teeth are kind of triangle shaped (more narrow on the bottom) so he just evened it out a bit. My bottoms were stuck due to the shape and not moving so now they're all lined up. It didn't hurt at all, and he probably only created about 1mm worth of space.

How many visits did it take to create the 1mm of space and how long did it take to close?

IPR generally ranges from 0.2-0.6mm. 1mm would be a lot of IPR. As we're looking for about 1mm of movement a month, depending on the amount of IPR required, it could take only a couple of weeks for the IPR spaces to close up.

Here's a video of the IPR process in case you're interested . http://www.torontobraces.ca/gettingstarted/#4

DrJasonKTam wrote:IPR generally ranges from 0.2-0.6mm. 1mm would be a lot of IPR. As we're looking for about 1mm of movement a month, depending on the amount of IPR required, it could take only a couple of weeks for the IPR spaces to close up.

Here's a video of the IPR process in case you're interested . http://www.torontobraces.ca/gettingstarted/#4

Thanks.

To create space between each gap, your ortho may choose a combination of diamond file, a very thin rotor, or a very thin "drill" that's shaped like a needle (but not as sharp as one, of course.) The diamond file requires the ortho's own strength and doesn't hurt. However I do find the drills somewhat painful - totally bearable, but enough to make the surface of my teeth quite bloody. The pain isn't really a piercing pain, but an intense freezing feel on my teeth and gums. Maybe my ortho didn't use enough local anesthesia ointment.

IPR is a very odd feeling. Not at all painful - you just feel pressure as they push the tool against the space. I had a total of 5 gaps created, each 0.5mm in size. It was about 3 months before they were closed.