Nothing on my last molar

[thelongwayhome]

I just got my metal braces two weeks ago. I got them to fix my side to side bite because of my grinding my teeth so much I fractured 3. My teeth were pretty straight, but they can use a little work. They say it will take a year. They did not put anything on my last tooth upper and lower. I also have no band on any teeth. They don't want me to be seen for 2 months. Does this sound appropriate? Thanks for your opinions!

[thelongwayhome]

By the way, what is the actual purpose of the bands around the teeth??

[MorningLight]

I had bands only when I had my appliance in my mouth. When I was done with them, rather than snipping the wires from the bands, they just removed them and replaced it with a bracket, so now I'm band-free. I think usually bands are used for appliances like head gear and arch widening...there may be other reasons that I can't think of.
I don't have brackets on either of my back molars, up and down. The main reason was because I had a filling on one side of my uppers and the compound wasn't sticking to it. So they left it as well as the buddy on the other side and the bottoms. The back teeth have a tendency to follow the lead of the teeth in front of them anyways.

[thelongwayhome]

Oh yes, I almost forgot, I have what I think is buccal tubes cemented on my second to last teeth, but nothing on all back four teeth. Do they add molar bands later in treatment if I am only going to be in braces one year? Thanks again for your opinions.

[MorningLight]

Yes, I have those on my second to last molars on top and bottom(nothing on the furthest molars). You may or may not get the bands. It all depends on your treatment whether or not you'll get them. I'd ask the ortho what he/she has planned in the coming months to see if you'd need them.

[Zoso]

Bands are just one of the ways to attach the tubes - as you've seen, they can also be bonded directly to the tooth.

As to not including the back molars: your orthodontist may be waiting until later in treatment, or may also not be treating those teeth - either of these would represent common and perfectly valid approaches. You should discuss with him.

[thelongwayhome]

Thank you both for your reply. I will let you know what he says.

[Zoso]

Oops - please allow me a slight correction of what I posted: either of these would represent common and perfectly valid approaches in the appropriate case. (Every case is unique, and what's right for one may not be for another!)

[Sunny]

Your treatment sounds typical thelongwayhome. Where I work, we use buccal molar brackets instead of molar bands and the second molars are only included if they affect the persons bite. The time between adjustments varies depending on what the ortho is hoping the patients teeth will achieve. These times can vary from between two weeks and 16 weeks. The average is probably between eight and 12 weeks.

Archwires will keep working to move the teeth into the position the archwire is shaped, which is usually as close to a perfect arch as possible. This means that the ortho doesn't always need to interfer in the process as often as they did. Of course many still like to check that everything is progressing well and will see their patients, even when teeth are still actively moving.

Good luck with your treatment!