Archwire shape

[Carie]

First post!
So I finally got braces on 5 days ago! Top set, Radiance Plus brackets,one tooth not bracketed yet. Bottom set then TADS to come. See some movement already and that tiny bit seems to make such a difference. Just today able to bite through soft things, has been a lot of soup and rice pudding :)
What I'm wondering is: when I had an appointment to go through contract, have molds taken etc it was with an ortho but not the head guy who actually put them on. To her I made it clear that the last thing I'd want by the end of treatment is to look at all goofy/ ratty. ( As that is EXACTLY how I have looked since always). Now I'm doing some research about HOW braces work and it largely comes down to the original shape of the wire.. and archwires do come in different shapes. Of course, they must choose your wire based on your jaw shape and size. But have you ever been asked the shape you're trying to achieve? Why aren't patients opinions considered in this major decision? I'm concerned that I've got the more pointy ( ratty) shape, that is how it looked before he put it in. But I would LOVE to have the front four all in a straight line at least. Any views/input I'd find interesting thanks.

[sirwired]

Any single ortho will generally use only a couple different archwire shapes; if you look at the dispensing tray, you'll see only about 8-10 wires, and most of these are just different alloys/thicknesses of the same shape. While they may look "pointy", the smile (even a broad, beautiful, one) is not nearly as wide as you think it is.

[oldfart]

Most orthos will discuss the desired results before treatment is even started. If that hasn't been done I would suggest you bring it up. Else how do you know you will get the results that you paying for?

[Carie]

Thanks for the responses. I did ask in the beginning what we could aim for them to look like..He showed a photo of perfect teeth and said 'this', seemed like a good place to start! But I will have this conversation the next time I go in. Just to clarify. I think the bit that's making me feel awkward is that I did already get pretty specific with the lady I was in with before (shape, don't suck prominent canines back up) and I'd hope/assume she made note of it, but for my own peace of mind I guess I'll say it again!

Did you have this conversation with your ortho about archwire shape/ specific desired results?

[Ziggy]

My ortho answers all of my questions whenever I ask them but I still don't understand the entire process. That said I"m not worried about the final results. I've seen his work on others and the results have been excellent. Always remember that when you are finished YOU are his advertising so an ortho can't really afford bad results.