Is it normal to use power chain on few teeth only ?

[smileohhh]

I have just noticed another issue with my braces and I VERY ANNOYED about it, I can't believe how my ortho is handling my case !
Braces has caused a little gape between my upper incisor and lateral incisor, when I mentioned it he have me a power chain of ....ONLY 4 CHAINS ! only from lateral left incisor to lateral right incisor and guess what? I just realized that I have another gape between the lateral incisor and the canine, so obvious, he close a gape a creates another one, why not just put a power chain on all my teeth ?
any thought ?


sorry for the vent

[sirwired]

Yes, it's pretty normal for a powerchain to only go a short distance; sometimes a powerchain even skips teeth that it passes over.

[beckyboo0205]

I think it's pretty normal too. I only had a powerchain on the front 4 teeth for a few months. Just don't get a color and no one will even notice. And you'll definitely have to accept weird gaps opening up here and there. Everyone always says it gets worse before it gets better, and it's totally true! I've had so many weird gaps and weird looking things with my teeth over the past 18 months. Including what I thought looked like a snaggletooth a week before I was in my sister's wedding and that was 13 months into my braces.

[SunshineRay]

My power chains were only on a few teeth until the very end when they were the whole top to ensure all gaps were gone.

[parsleysage]

Speaking as someone who is only powerchained 2-2 (lateral to lateral) on top and 3-3 (canine to canine) on bottom, I feel your pain! It's annoying because I'd really like the gaps between my laterals & canines on the top to close IMMEDIATELY!!!! because I hate the way it looks. But hey, the orthodontist knows best and there's a reason s/he's only moving certain teeth right now.

So to answer your question: Yes, it's normal!

[boodles8]

I have spent most of my time in power chains in just a few, from 2-4 on either side, total of two chains. Then they went and put me in chains from 4-4, and it messed up my front teeth so that we spent the next two months fiddling around to make them straight again. Personally, I think the long chain was a mistake. 2-4 either side was doing what we needed.

All that to say, it is not necessary to have power chains on every tooth to do what you need. But yes, orthos do make mistakes. And what teeth need chained or what might go wrong with any certain chain configuration will vary case by case.

[psily]

Completely normal. For over a year I've had power chains on a few teeth here and there (also gaps forming here and there), up until 2 months ago I was finally chained fully top and bottom - mainly because I'm near the end of my treatment (7 more weeks!).

Your ortho is doing what's best for you right now, just remember you don't want to rush things. I know it's frustrating when things aren't looking the way you want them to at the moment, but trust me your teeth will come along nicely in the end.

[smileohhh]

I know ! I am not rushing, the ortho is rushing me to take them off and i don t understand why he would close a gape knowing that another one is going to be created, especially since it regards by front teeth

[clearlybracedmomma23]

totally normal.i had a power chain of just three rings for a couple months to help de-rotate one of my canines. as far as I'm aware you don't get full power chains until near the end of treatment to help finish putting all the teeth in place nice and tight together. i recently came to terms with the fact that my teeth are going to move here and there throughout treatment and not always look how i want them to while they adjust this and that throughout appointments to get them where they need to be at the end of treatment…it sucks but in the end it will definitely be worth a gap once here and once there but not anymore!

[Snowglobe32]

Depending on how far into treatment you are, I am sure your ortho has a reason for why you are wearing a short powerchain.
Over my 4 years, I wore long powerchains, short chains, no chains, power ties instead of chains...etc...

Just ask questions re: your treatment so you are informed as to why they are doing what they are doing. There may be a reason why..the chain could effect other teeth if longer...etc...

Ask questions! You are paying for treatment and I feel the more informed you want to be, shows your ortho that you are interested....Ortho is their passion so I assume they love when someone wants to be involved.

[Slader01]

The main reason I wanted braces was because of spaces, but the "medical" reason is because of a cross bite. I have a large gap between my two upper central incisors due to an enlarged labial frenum. I also had a small gap in between my two lower central incisors for whatever reason. I've had braces for 4 months, and when I first got them on, I had only lower braces for the first two months(no top braces) In that two months, I had a full power chain on all of my bottom teeth(which i found kind of weird?). At my 2nd appointment(2 months into braces), I got upper braces and still had a full power chain on my bottom teeth, but no power chain on my top teeth. At my 3rd appointment, I got a power chain on my 6 front lower teeth. And at my 4th (and most recent), I got a power chain on my 4 front upper teeth & no power chain at all on the lowers now. Very weird the way my orthodontist works, but I know i will end up with beautiful teeth in the end. The space in my lower teeth has closed, but without the chain on my bottom teeth, I've noticed teeth that were once extremely tight together are now starting to drift apart, and I've only been without the chain for 4 days. It was the same story when they went from a full power chain to only a power chain on 6 teeth; i could feel the ones without the power chain starting to drift apart. You can't see the spaces, but I can feel them when I'm flossing. It's pretty weird how the braces can't keep unnecessary gaps closed without the power chain, just like they can't keep the bite aligned if you stop wearing your elastics. Kind of makes me wonder how the retainer does it..Another thing i found weird is how, when i had the full power chain on my bottom teeth for the first 3 months of treatment, the gap didn't close at all; my teeth just felt tighter when i was flossing. however, when they did the 3-3 power chain (6 front lower teeth), the gap closed within the first 2 days. kind of weird.

Anyways, I'm sure that I'll have full power chains on both upper & lower teeth when my treatment is nearing the end. At my last appointment, my orthodontist told me that a space would open up between my upper lateral & canine teeth on both sides, and the midline gap will get smaller. But, then they will eventually close all the space & told me not to worry about it.