I can't believe I'm over 2 months in on my braces! I had my first adjustment today. Before I had braces I would hear people talk about getting their braces tightened. I had a mental picture of the orthodontist pulling the wire tighter at each visit. Well that's not how it happens. You may not get a new wire each month but they will take the wire out and reinstall with new ligatures (the colorful rubber bands that hold the wire on). Basically the wire is pre-shaped to the perfect arch. When it's installed it tries to return to its perfect shape pulling your teeth along with it. As time goes on the wire gets thicker allowing more pressure to be put on your teeth.
Yesterday I went up in wire thickness. I also had a small spring installed in the front. According to my ortho my front tooth is stubborn so the spring will make more room, faster, so the tooth can turn into place.
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| Tiny little spring to force the teeth apart. |
I can really tell a difference with this new wire. My teeth are SO sore this morning. It didn't even hurt this much when I first got them on! My appointment was at noon and by the evening I hurt. I didn't even want to eat dinner and it hurt to brush my teeth.
I'm always amazed how fast teeth can move even though at times it feels like they are not moving at all. This picture is only 1 day apart. My bottom midline was shifting to the right but after the new wire and the spring it's pretty much back to normal.
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| Look how much my bottom midline has moved in 1 day! |
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| Look at the bend in that wire! |
Other than that not much to update. I'll post some pictures below of my progress so far. Next appointment is in 4 weeks. Hopefully the stubborn tooth with start moving.
