1st adjustment = change of elastics?

[hpsun]

I just had my 1st adjustment today.

I only had my elastics changed! I was expecting a new wire or adjustment of brackets or something but no, they only changed the elastics. They said different types of elastics so it's tighter now than before.

Has anyone encountered this before? I believe in the orthodontist's decision but I was just a little surprised. I thought they would change the wire and what not.

confused...

[MsMichelle]

Change in wire doesn't always take place. When I first got my braces, I kept the same wire for quite a while and now after almost a year and some change in I have kept the same wire for the past three months. The ortho knows what they are doing, no worries dear!

[mikeg]

ya the wire isn't always changed as it is still working... they will put new bands or powerchains and leave the exisiting wire to continue doing its job... very common and good practice as teeth can only move so fast while remaining healthy.

wheres your blog hpsun? you should start one here and track your progress since you are early in treatment.

good luck :toast:

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

There are times when there is still activity in the wire and the NiTi wire does not yet need to be replaced.

While there are some elastics with a smaller lumen, most offices will use just one type of elastic ligature.

We try to schedule our patients out for about 8 weeks to benefit from the full activity of an archwire so that we can use office visits for changing wires to move treatment along. There is really no reason that most treatments using modern orthodontic appliances can't have treatment intervals of 6-12 weeks between appointments. Patients appreciate not having to come in as often for "just an elastic change" :).

[hpsun]

ok thanks everybody!

the ortho also did something called "slenderizing" before they fixed the elastics. what bothered me is he didn't explain it to me what it was before putting that little device into my mouth and carving off my enamel. he explained it while he was already doing it and for those who have had "slenderizing", the noise from the device was too loud for me to hear anything.

[Sunny]

IPR is an excellent way to make small amounts of space between teeth. Once upon a time space was made by extracts only ... but now our orthos' have many more options, which is great for us!