How long does it take for teeth to close in the Gap after extraction?

[Blackdog]

Hi, as ive posted on another thread, i just got my upper braces. But ive got my lower braces for over two months now, after the extraction of two bicuspids and it seems to me the gap is not closing! Does anyone know how long it takes ? I keep reading everywhere about powerchains, but i dont know if that treatment is available with my doctor. Just five days in , i feel my upper teeth have moved a lot faster, than my lower teeth have done in two months! Sometimes i even wonder if the gap will ever close! Can someone please share if they know how long it takes to close extraction gaps?

[djspeece]

It's highly dependent on your bone density and biology. The mandible (lower jaw) is much more dense than the upper jaw. I had the same issue with gaps left after a couple of extractions on the lower jaw and it took three years for the gaps to close. In my case it was due to extremely dense bones and long roots. My orthodontist (and you are seeing an orthodontist, hopefully, and not a general dentist for your braces) applied powerchains (standard treatment that all qualified orthodontists are trained in), closing coils, and even a couple rounds of Propel therapy (which is designed to stimulate bone remodeling and thereby facilitate tooth movement by inserting and backing out a TAD-like screw on both sides of the gap). As he liked to joke, "Well Dan, some people are just more dense than others!"
I think in an ideal situation you would hope for 1mm per month in the way of closure. As I said, this was just one case (me) and I am very dense . So best of luck to you and don't panic!

[Blackdog]

Hey Dan. Thanks for replying , yeah my Doctor is an ortho and i do trust him, but he never answers clearly about the speed at which the gaps will close. Im going to ask him about powerchains and the other methods you mentioned when i go for my next adjustment. I have a feeling though i might be dense too.. :p

[WanderingWallflower]

How long is your treatment plan? I don't think you should expect it to completely close in two months, I believe as your treatment goes along, the gap will close on it's own. You can voice your concerns to your ortho.

[Blackdog]

My treatment is around one year. And yeah ill do that next week hopefully.

[billysil]

It will close but it takes time. I had 2 teeth pulled out in March and last month (3 months with braces) they finally started to close the gaps. There seems to be no change when touching those gaps with my tongue, but what helps me is taking pictures of my teeth and comparing them. I can see the gaps closing. Slowly, but closing.

[Beemur]

Definitely agree with djspeece, I think it does indeed depend on bone density
I only had one extraction, a lower incisor, and my ortho said he would love to give me a very specific answer but he has had people whose gaps have closed in 4 months and some whose have taken a four years! I was like wow He did also say though that after about 2-3 months, he would be able to give a better prediction about how fast it has been closing but it might decide to be stubborn all of a sudden haha. It's been three months for me now and he said it's going at a pretty average speed and should be mostly closed in another 3 months or so in an ideal situation. Hopefully your orthodontist can powerchain you and speed it up! I have invisalign so no speedy powerchains for me haha

[Bbyrd]

Extractions terrify me. I hope to start without having to have any.

[Lovespain5]

It took 24 months for me to close all the extraction gaps. As much as I had powerchains and elastics during nearly all my treatment.

[assertives]

Has your ortho already starting working on closing the gaps? For my case, at 2 months, I was still in the alignment and uprighting of my teeth, and we have only just begun on gaps closure 6 months into my treatment.

At 2 months into your treatment, it could be that your ortho is still working on aligning your teeth and hence you are not seeing any difference in the gaps.

[Lovespain5]

Has your ortho already starting working on closing the gaps? For my case, at 2 months, I was still in the alignment and uprighting of my teeth, and we have only just begun on gaps closure 6 months into my treatment.

At 2 months into your treatment, it could be that your ortho is still working on aligning your teeth and hence you are not seeing any difference in the gaps.

That was the same thing for me : aligning my teeth the 6 first months and after, closing the gaps with the elastics.