Adjustments and Wire strengths

[MelRoberg]

Hi there!

I'm new here and got braced yesterday. I'm sore today but coping okay so far.
I'd like to understand more about adjustments and wire strengths.

Typically how many adjustments do you have throughout your treatment and which are the more important?

And what would be the wire strengths that get put in throughout your treatment, in order to track your progress?

[sirwired]

Really, you are going to have to ask your orthodontist, as practices vary wildly by diagnosis, treatment, appliance used, and orthodontist.

Generally, the "wire sequence" is 4-5 wires. You go from thin, round, Ni-Ti wires for the initial alignment, to thick, rectangular, stainless wires for final tipping. You may go "backwards" in wires if there need to be any adjustments made to the location of your brackets.

Once you are on your final wire, debracing can happen anywhere from a couple months after that to well over a year, depending on what else still needs to be done. (For instance, you may still need substantial work with elastics even after the teeth are in a straight line and pointing at the right angles.)

Space between visits is usually 5-8 weeks, although visits may be more frequent initially.

Don't be discouraged at the pace of your progress; depending on what problem you are having solved, it may come in spurts. For me, my teeth were cosmetically straight after just a few months, but there was still substantial work to be done to get the teeth pointing at the correct angles for a healthy bite.

[chichi]

Sirwired explained it well. If you have self-ligating brackets (the ones that don't use ligatures to hold the wires in place), your adjustments will usually be around 8 weeks apart. If you have traditional brackets, your adjustments will tend to be more like 4-6 weeks apart.

I have Damons and my adjustments have been every 8 weeks. Here's my archwire progression so far:

Brace day (BD):
Upper: 0.014 NiTi (round)
Lower: 0.014 NiTi (round)

BD + 8 weeks:
Upper: 0.016 NiTi (round)
Lower: 0.018 NiTi (round)

BD + 16 weeks:
Upper: 0.018 NiTi (round)
Lower: 0.014 x 0.025 NiTi (rectangular)
I also got my first set of elastics at this appointment

BD + 24 weeks:
Upper: 0.014 x 0.025 NiTi (rectangular)
Lower: 0.018 x 0.025 NiTi (rectangular)
Another new elastic configuration


Everyone is different and will require different wires, elastics, additional appliances, etc., so I wouldn't expect a similar progression (although the Damon system seems relatively standard as far as archwires go).

[MelRoberg]

Thank you guys! I mainly have crowding that needs to be corrected but am expecting my bite to be corrected as well once everything is aligned.

It helps to know the procedure a bit better from those who are experienced! My ortho recited all the in's and out's rather quickly and it literally is a mouthful to keep track of.

My first adjustment is in 8 weeks time, hopefully the wire moves up a notch.

[SunshineRay]

I am at almost 6 months in and I have had an adjustment every 4 weeks. I have never had my wire changed though and wondered when that was done.

[MrsCharisma]

Since starting treatment in January, I've gone every 4 weeks for adjustments. I've gotten wire strengths adjusted 3 or 4 times since January.

[kids041]

I am 4 months in, and have had the top wire changed 2 times, and the bottom only 1. Still no rubber bands, but I know that they are coming...
My apts. are usually every 8 weeks, and I have the traditional metal brackets with ligs. They are currently trying to get a stubborn tooth to rotate less, and fully join the archwire. That is the reason for the only 1 wire change on the bottom teeth. They said that the smaller wires are the ones that do the majority of the rotating and leveling, with the stronger stainless steel teeth for tipping and that kind of thing.

[WiredOldLady]

I'm on my third wire on the bottom and 2nd on the top. Both wires were changed at my first adjustment (6 weeks in). Bottom wire was changed and molar band added on the bottom right at my second adjustment. My third adjustment is on 1/7/14. At that point, I need to talk to my ortho about a tooth that has moved so far I can jam my fingernail in the gap between that tooth and the next one. It feels REALLY funny from behind. Debating calling him now. It didn't move until after my 2nd adjustment. Any advice there?

[JeniK]

Hi everyone! Has been a while since I have been on here. I am in my 4th month. Have all my original wires. I do wonder when they will be changed. My teeth are still moving, so I know they are still working. I definitely see improvement, so I am very pleased so far!

[sim]

Good to read I'm not the only one who doesn't get her wire changed every month. I was a bit worried because I thought that I would get a new wire every month.

This is my treatment:

January
Braces on

February
Changing elastic lig to an iron ligature around one of the brackets lower teeth.

March
New wire upper jaw

April
IPR lower teeth
New wire lower jaw

May
Chaning elastic lig to an iron ligiture around bracket next to another another iron ligiture teeth lower jaw
Powerchain upper law on 4 front teeth.

[Woobster]

I'm about 9 months into treatment and with the exception of one week where my ortho was on vacation, my adjustments have been every 3 weeks.

I am already in the "finishing" wire on top and I believe the third wire on the bottom. My ortho says I should be out of these things before Christmas!

This is the second time around for me though, so that has probably played a big role in my progression. I had very little straightening to be done. More spacial/bite issues that are working out nicely.