Found power chain unhooked, what to do ?????

[Huggypillow]

Ok so while putting my elastic on the 1 st molar i noticed that the powerchain is not hooked onto that tooth, but it is hooked to the second molar.

The powerchain is hooked on the right side on all the molars.

Would my orthodontist have left it off that one tooth for any reason due to one elastic being on that side ?????

Should i hook it on with tweezers ????

Has anyone had their ortho leave one tooth unhooked before ?????

I only noticed it last night and i didnt look that close to notice after my last adjustment,

[sirwired]

Call your orthodontist's office and ask. Definitely don't go attaching stuff on your own without asking.

[Snowglobe32]

Sounds to me like it just came off the bracket possible by the elastics. It can easily be attached but of course, call your ortho first.

[Huggypillow]

Thanks for the replies, my resoning was perhaps he left it off that tooth, or if he didnt and it came off does that mean that i wont have any movement.

Has anyone heard of an ortho skipping a tooth ?????

[Snowglobe32]

I have never heard of an ortho skipping a tooth when it comes to a powerchain.

After the powerchain has been on for some time, they start to lose their power. Just like elastics, liquids and chewing stretch out the chain. I wouldn't worry about it being off for a few days; it won't hurt anything. When you call on Monday and if they say to put it back on, you can use a tweezer or toothpick and just loop it around the bracket.

I assume your pc is on top of the wire, is that correct?

[Huggypillow]

Hey snowglobe,

Yes pc is on top of my wire im thinking your right with it perhaps coming off somehow, after thinking today i have become a bit more adventurous with food ove the last few weks.

[~KMG~]

My ortho has intentionally skipped a loop on the power chain (near the molars), but not on a tooth itself. I agree with the previous posters......call your ortho.

[DrJasonKTam]

The tooth was probably not purposely skipped. Due to the direction of the hook and the lack of tie wings on a molar bracket, when going from the 2nd molar to the 1st molar to the 2nd premolar, the one most likely to come off is the one on the first molar. The biggest problem that can happen is if it contacts the wire/molar bracket prematurely and puts a lingual force on it. Still it shouldn't be a force so great to cause much of a problem.

If you are able to loop it back onto the hook, that will save you a trip to the doctor. However, be careful that the tweezers do not cut the power chain, as this will cause it to separate into two pieces, and with the 2nd premolar being one of the terminal ends of the chain, it may cause it to rotate.

The best thing to do is to call your doctor and see if you can pop in to have it put back on. Good luck!