Getting discouraged

[jamsession]

I know its early but I've had my braces - Clear Damons upper and lower - for 5 weeks and I have seen little to no movement of my teeth. I got them for crowding of the lowers and overlapped front teeth. In the blogs I have read I have seen people raving about how fast their teeth move in the the first month. I don't have my first adjustment for another 5 weeks. Should I be worried?

[klobird]

No--don't worry!! It took a couple of months for me to see anything. I thought I would be in braces for 100 years!! Then they just went nutso!!! When they finally started moving, the ortho said they were moving "alarmingly fast". My overjet went from about 10mm to 4mm in about 2 months!!

The ortho must not have liked "alarmingly fast" because now, in my opinion, they are moving "alarmingly slow"!!!

[TMJJill]

My orthodontist has been focused on developing my arch before moving all my teeth into place. The Damon's have done a great job widening my upper arch. I just got my lowers a month ago and don't see the difference, but my wire has gotten "longer" so I know my lower arch has developed since I got them on. I don't see the same kind of movement with my lowers that I saw with my uppers. I know I just need to be patient though.

I'm sure you have changes taking place that you don't even notice. 10 weeks between appointments is a long time. I can see how that would make you more discouraged.

Hang in there,
TMJJill

[Duncan5]

I'm at +3 weeks on upper arch, and no obvious movement either. Guess we just have to be patient. Did you have the .14 or .13 wire? The .13 is lightweight, from what I've read it's for heavy crowding.

Next appt in 1 week, possibly for lower arch as he only fitted brackets on the molars last time. That said, it's only a 15 mins appt. Should ask, so I can plan soup stocks.

[oimysizex]

I am about 4 weeks into treatment, (only got my bottom brace on so far) and I've noticed no change at all, it can take a while to start seeing progress

[jem]

Hi Jam,

Congrats on getting the Damon Clears on both arches. I have them on top and nothing on my lowers. I would be interested to see pics of the lowers as I think they are new. The Damon clear model which was shown to me when I was starting last December had metal brackets on the lower arch.

It took about 3 months before I started to see much movement but I am now making progress steadily; some people just see quicker movement than others but you will make progress in due course so don't worry.

Good luck with your treatment,

Jem

[snarfblat]

I had similar results to other posters. Almost no movement at all for about 2 months, and then it seemed like things really started accellerating. In the last 2 or 3 weeks my front overlapped teeth have really shifted a lot. (In braces for 3 months now).

I would say don't worry about it. Take pictures, and watch how the arch wire is straightening out.

Good Luck!

[Toasty79]

I've had mine for about 6 weeks now and only saw movement in the last week or so, since I had a powerchain put on. That totally got them moving, though it seems to have plateaued again now.

[furious george]

I've mentioned this before, but the movement I've seen it pretty subtle so far - but it's there, and that's the important thing. My wide gaps haven't closed or anything, but then every few days I see something small that means more is going on.

Things like:
My bottom teeth are all almost the same height now (they weren't before).
I've always had huge gaps between my lateral incisors and canines, and those aren't closing yet...but now I have a gap behind one of my canines - I think because they are actually rotating.

I've had braces for about three months now and it's only been the last few weeks that I can see some subtle differences in pictures. Try to be patient, it will happen!

[jamsession]

Thanks for all the encouragement! Its great and really gives me some hope. Its funny, I look at my teeth not moving and can get myself thinking "could I be the only person in the world braces don't work on?" of course not, but it can make you crazy.

I get my first adjustment in just over 2 weeks so I will post some before and during photos for an update. I think I have the .14 wire but I'm not sure. I do hope I get a new one.

Funny thing happened today - on of the little metal knobs to hold bands broke off my lower incisor this morning while brushing. I guess its no big deal and they'll give me a new bracket if I need to use that thing....

Check back in a few weeks for photos...

[kennyandrew85]

I didn't notice anything until about the 8th week, but once they start moving, they don't stop and you notice changes weekly.

[dojo]

Teeth move at a different pace. And some look weird when they do, so don't get scared if your teeth look worse for a while. The end result is what counts

I saw some SERIOUS move after 2-3 months, but I mean serious. I had a canine that was pretty up and it went down so nicely I barely recognized my mouth

[Metal Mickey]

I'm like you, I am only 9 days in braces but I am desperate for progress!

Apart from the pressure and feeling like my teeth are bruised and having a couple of the really bruised ones being slightly wobbly there is no other change yet.

My ortho did tell me that I wouldn't see change for a couple of months, so I guess patience is the order of the day!

[salsashark]

I've had my top braces for 3 months and have barely seen any movement so I've been discouraged as well. I had an exposure surgery done on an impacted canine and within a few weeks I've started to see it slowly emerge. I think I'm an impatient person in general so this whole process is frustrating for me.