Metal Mouth Message Board

Three weeks in and not a millimeter of movement (at least to the naked eye)! My kids laugh at me and tell me it's a "process"...one they have experienced (although didn't appreciate, therefore, didn't wear their retainers). I am convinced I am the only human ever that braces will not work for! And I have one tooth in the back that I swear could fall out any minute. It feels like loose teeth did as a kid and if I could get my finger in there without jabbing it with a wire, I'd be wiggling it just like if I were 6! Patience has never been my strong point. I'm thinking the docs estimate of 8-12 months may be wishful thinking.....oh well. Thanks for letting me vent. My family's sick of braces talk.

Awwww... unless your teeth are fused to your jaw, which x-rays would have revealed, then they will move. Unless your teeth were already loose it takes at least three weeks for the bone to break down and your teeth to start moving. If you have strong bones then it could take longer. And of cause the initial wires are not that strong. Their main purpose is to wake the teeth up. At least that is my understanding.

Only two of my teeth did any real moving in the first eight weeks and that was only because they were already slightly loose. The rest of my teeth loosened up a bit and there was some minor movement which was not visible. I only knew because it was harder to floss between some of my teeth as they were closer together. The real movement started with a stronger wire and powerchains.

So I guess you just have to learn to be patient. Trust me, it will pay off in the end.

I thought exactly the same thing - that my teeth would never move! When I had the lower braces put on (January 3rd of this year) they said, "You'll see the teeth move FAST!" Yeah, right...

The movement wasn't quite as fast as had been promised, but yes, the teeth did indeed move. I likewise thought I was the only person in history for whom braces wouldn't work

I'm 10 days in and have seen a gap starting to appear at the side as my diastema is closing. My teeth feel wobbly, especially a back tooth and it looks like slowly there is some progress.

I too have a short treatment timeframe of around 8-9 months.

Hang on in there, you will see some movement.

Hi Lillypad,

My estimate was 6-9 months and I am now 6 months in with a fair amount of movement still needed. I saw very little movement in my first 3 months, but my ortho remained upbeat. My teeth have been gradually unscrambling since the 3 month point. The only dramatic movement I have seen has been with powerchains ( which I have had since 4.5 months) closing IPR spaces virtually overnight.

I may well go over the 9 month mark but I don't think by too much. Estimates are presumably only based on the length of time a particular treatment plan typically takes. So for some of us it will be a bit longer or a bit shorter. Would I have been happier now if my ortho had originally said 6-12 months? I don't know.

So hang in there. Your estimate will probably be about right. You WILL see movement in time. As Shekhinak says, it is funny how so many of us have thought that braces would not work for us.

Good luck

Jem

If your teeth feel loose, they are already moving. Watch the wires, not the teeth. That's where you see the movement first.

Auco99 is absolutely right. I haven't been braced 2 months yet and my teeth are so loose; some are so sore it hurts to brush; some are tight I can't floss. But don't look at the teeth watch the wire. My wires are no longer straight. The upper and lower wires look like a crooked fence . So hang in there movement is definitely on the way.

It's only been two days and I've been expecting huge changes. I'm constantly looking in the mirror...I should just accept that this is going to take a little longer than I thought! xD

I am also constantly checking for movement...and it's only day 2...wishful thinking! Slowly but surely we will have movement soon!

the best thing I have found to do is to not look alot. Its better to wait a couple of weeks and then look. I was having a spacing issue and I stopped looking at it, and about a month later, I looked, and the space is 95% gone. I am 11.5 months into my treatment and I think from here on out, its gonna be VERY slow movement...unlike my first 3 months where everything was moving like crazy.

I am like 10 weeks in and I didn't think my teeth were moving much either. But it turns out the changes are subtle.

Weird changes. Like my two front teeth were slightly different lengths and now they're the same? Like my canines are rotating or lengthening? Like I had a way tall ocean bottom tooth and now it's almost the same height and less ocean?

I was looking for closing gaps, but it seems like there are other small things changing for the time being.

I will be a lot happier when I finally get elastics and heavier archwires and powerchains, though. I'm most looking for to seeing gaps close and my overjet start to diminish.

It changed the word c.o.c.k.e.d to ocean. WTF? LOL.

furious george wrote:It changed the word c.o.c.k.e.d to ocean. WTF? LOL.

Haha! I'm sorry, I just had to laugh at this. I was trying to figure what it meant for your teeth be way tall ocean! I know I'm older, but come on!

I have nothing to add to the actual thread!