Metal Mouth Message Board

I hope everyone is healthy and safe.

Next week I have my first ortho appointment since early March. I'm curious what it's been like for other bracees who have had a COVID-forced break in their treatments. When you were able to see your orthodontist again, did you find that everything was okay? Or are you and your orthodontist going to have to put in more work fixing some things that went awry during this time?

I was supposed to have my braces off pre-pandemic, but my lower first molars decided to rotate on me. Then the pandemic hit. In the ensuing three months, my second lower molars have rotated nearly 45 degrees (what is it with these molars???). I'm curious to see how much time it will take to fix that and how my orthodontist will maintain anchorage with those wayward teeth.

I think my molars are starting to rotate, too.
I still haven't been able to go in for an adjustment since Feb, but my other teeth are still continuing to shift in a good way.

Not quite the same situation as you, as I got my braces off just before covid. But I had a bracket broke and that caused my first molars to rotate within minutes. It took my ortho about 4 or 5 months to correct that, and even then, they are still abit off now.

It seems that I'm not the only one dealing with wayward molars.

My orthodontist said the molars turned because of the power chain I'd been wearing for three months (due to the office shutting down because of COVID-19) instead of the month it was intended to stay on there. She "stepped" down to a thinner-gauge wire to bring the molars back into line, and I can feel the difference. My molars don't seem to have moved much, but they are SORE!

The doctor doesn't seem worried about keeping the molars in place once they're straightened; she said the retainers would see to that. I'd rather have the braces stay on for an extra amount of time to make sure everything's stable, but she's eager to get the braces off because of some past gum issues I've had. For the time being, I'll return to the office every two weeks to get checked out.