Visit Expectations

[jhgsupra]

I've had my Damon's for 6 weeks now and I'm scheduled for my first visit in a couple of weeks. That said, what typically happens during your visit/s? I understand that they may put a heavier gauge wire in which I believe promotes more movement but I was also wondering if the Ortho will reposition any of the fixtures on my teeth. After careful examination on my part (I study my teeth more than I could have ever imagined) it seems like the fixtures are strategically placed on each tooth to get them to move in the desired direction but then again when they were initially attached it didn't seem like too much effort was made to put them in a precise location. Perhaps the Ortho is really good at doing this...

Lastly, my teeth have had that sensitive feeling since I had my braces put on 6 weeks ago. Is that typical? I thought you only had that feeling of getting "hit in the mouth" for a couple of days. I figure it means my teeth are moving so I'm fine with it.

Thanks all!

[jaime]

It really varies what can happen at appointments. You might get one or two new wires, you might not. You might get prescribed an elastics regime. It really just depends on your treatment and your ortho.

A good example of how much it can vary: the user parsleysage on this site got power chains right off the bat. I asked my ortho when I would get them and he told me not for awhile, as he doesn't like to use them in the beginning. So you can only use other people's treatment as a guideline.

Do you still feel like you were hit in the mouth? Or is it soreness just when biting into foods? I'm 5+ months in and I can't say there's been a day or week where zero teeth were sensitive; there's usually one or two. It did take about 6 weeks for most of it to go away, though. If you are sore all the time and/or still needing painkillers, I would talk to your ortho.

[djspeece]

As others will mention there seems to be a lot of variability. Like you I started with relatively flimsy round archwires which progressed several steps with the rectangular shaped wires; I've had my current set for nearly a year, and it will be the set that I end with. I got powerchains about 3 months into my 24 month plan, top and bottom. For the first 18 months or so I had appointments every 6 weeks; now they are every 4 weeks (I am in month 25, with possibly another 6 months).
I have heard that orthos reposition brackets, but that has not happened to me. I do think they are quite good at what they do and can pretty much instantly visualize the end result and place the bracket accordingly.
I would recommend that you search out the posts by sirwired -- our resident non-ortho resident expert -- who really knows his stuff and who is very articulate in his explanations. He often chimes in on posts like this, so his collection would probably cover your questions in more detail. Best of luck to you.

[TheProfessor]

I have Damon's and my adjustments are every 8 weeks. So far it has been pretty boring for me:
8 weeks: bigger top wire, stray tooth engaged in lower archwire
16 weeks: second molars connected to same size upper archwire, last wayward tooth engaged in lower
24 weeks: no change on uppers, bigger wire on lowers with second molars connected
32 weeks (this morning): no change on uppers, bracket on lower left front incisor removed and repositioned, same wire put back in.

It seems like very slow progress compared to others' stories, but I was promised a rectangular upper wire in 8 weeks and possibly the same on my lowers. I'm always excited before every adjustment, but they are always anticlimactic. Everyone's teeth will move differently, just be patient and don't expect big changes at every visit.
---Prof