Power chain isn't working?

[ngarner0717]

One of my adult canines never dropped down and I had it brought down with a chain (major pain in the rear!). Well during the process the ortho created a very large space for it and now that the tooth is down they are tightening the space back up. I've been wearing power chains top and bottom for the last 4 months and the space has tightened up a bit but the last couple months I haven't noticed any progress. Is it possible the power chain just isn't strong enough anymore? I have had the chains changed out every 4 weeks until my appointment in March where they scheduled me to come back every 6 weeks. I have an appointment tomorrow but I don't see any progress between February and now.

Also wanted to add I've been braced for almost 3 years and I'm now paying $75.00 a visit. I would like to get this over as soon as possible.

[TumbleDryLow]

I was in a similar situation--stubborn gaps that wouldn't close. My ortho did two things. First, on my front two teeth, they literally wired them together to close a gap created by IPR. Second, I wore two powerchains on top each other for the last few months of treatment. That really hurt, but it worked.

[ngarner0717]

Thanks for the input Tumble! I'm hoping they do something more aggressive about it today at my appointment.

[VA5]

One of my adult canines never dropped down and I had it brought down with a chain (major pain in the rear!). Well during the process the ortho created a very large space for it and now that the tooth is down they are tightening the space back up. I've been wearing power chains top and bottom for the last 4 months and the space has tightened up a bit but the last couple months I haven't noticed any progress. Is it possible the power chain just isn't strong enough anymore? I have had the chains changed out every 4 weeks until my appointment in March where they scheduled me to come back every 6 weeks. I have an appointment tomorrow but I don't see any progress between February and now.

Also wanted to add I've been braced for almost 3 years and I'm now paying $75.00 a visit. I would like to get this over as soon as possible.

So sorry you've been braced for this long AND you have to pay more?? Is it b/c it exceeded your treatment plan? I've never heard of such a thing to be honest.

I too have gaps that are REALLY stubborn. I would say they took a good year to really close up. I have a really small space left, maybe 1 mm or less. Has your ortho tried metal coil springs? They definitely work better than just elastic powerchains, which seem to lose their strength really quickly. My ortho is using both metal coil and elastic powerchains, AND elastics to finish these babies off once and for all. Sounds like your ortho could try other methods than the powerchains, however he could be trying to be careful not to damage your roots, which is why mine took so long too. My ortho also took me out of powerchains all together for a month or two, to allow my roots to settle a bit, and then put everything back on... again, to avoid too much root damage, and to allow the root to catch up to the tilting of the teeth. Your ortho could also try tads to get better anchorage for the powerchains too. So, yes, there are many many different ways your ortho could amp up your treatment.

[ngarner0717]

Thanks for the input as well VA5! I was quoted for 2years and paid for 2 years but since they extended the treatment I'm now stuck paying for every visit. It is just very frustrating because I've paid out such a large sum of money between the Ortho and the Oral surgeons I saw for my chain surgeries I'm just fed up and want this over with. Especially if I have paid $150.00 for 2 months of little to no progress. I'm hoping my Ortho has some good news for me today.

[lynnjing]

Hello,

I'm so sorry to hear that. I haven't put the braces yet. But I have similar situation. My othor sugguested the same thing. But my dentist insist that I should get the power chain done first. They are gonna to put two rings and a wire, then try to bring down the cannie. If the cannie is moving, then I will put my braces. If it is not, there is no point to do the braces (I'm sorry, i'm still new. Dont know othro terms). I understand it takes longer, but I trust my dentist.

I will choose Incognito (lingual). As It will take 3 years for the braces. People won't notice. And it's like one-off payment. There is no time constrains. If the braces require longer, there is no additional charge.

I really hope your last appointment went well.

Cheers,

[ngarner0717]

Thanks for all the feedback. At my appointment on Thursday they doubled up the powerchain on the top. It looks like the gap is finally starting to close. My ortho could tell I was getting frusterated. Hopefully after another 2 months they will finally becomming off!

[Snowglobe32]

I would speak to your ortho about being charged $75.00 per visit. That is highway robbery.
Did you sign a contract? Was it written in your contract that additional visits would cost more money? Do you know how many other patients are also paying extra? Is this a "normal" procedure for your ortho? Does he mis-estimate treatment times so you end up paying more? Have you paid for every appointment after the 2 year mark?

I am sorry to get all worked up over this but I find this absolutely insane!

Also because I received a notice from my ortho stating I was past due but I am not. I decided to do SureSmile wires in February because the ortho said I could just add two additonal payments onto my payment time. Well, this didn't get back to the financial girl so when I called about the notice I was irrate. My total will be over $7500.00 when I am finished and I have about $1500.00 left to pay. I wanted to shout, "I have already paid you people close to $6,000.00!" In 5 months I will have hit my 2 year estimate (it was 22-24 months actually) and if I go over, thankfully I won't have to pay extra but being charged extra is nonsense. After explaining the story, she said "oh, then don't worry about it, you're okay." Are you kidding me?

I understand if you are breaking brackets or wires but being charged extra because you went over...was it due to your neglience or the fact that the ortho didn't plan out your treatment well?

Okay, I am going to breath now.

[ngarner0717]

This whole thing has been nothing but a pain. I'm still unsure who is at fault for my chain (that was bringing my impacted canine down) breaking 4 times. My oral surgeon would blame the orthodontist and my orthodontist would blame the oral surgeon. Finally I went to a different oral surgeon the 5th time around and had no problems so I'm assuming it was most likely the 1st oral surgeons fault. Also I have been through 3 orthodontists in the last 2.5 years. The dental group has about 3 offices here in Las Vegas and their Orthodontists rotate to the different offices every week. I understand why they got rid of the first orthodontist. However I'm not sure what happened to the last 2. I'm very happy with this last orthodontist and I wish I would have had her from the get go. I was considering switching orthos when all of the bs with my chain started with the 1st ortho but I had already had most of the braces paid off and didn't have the extra funds to start up somewhere else. I'm just trying to get through the rest of this and be done with it.