<p>Ds2 just got braces today. Both he and his brother think his two front teeth already are aligned slightly differently. I don’t see any difference at all, but I don’t really look at stuff like that.</p>
<p>Do the teeth move that quickly when you put on braces? I told them I think they are insane and that they are under the spell of some kind of optical illusion (or delusion) of having the metal in the mouth. But for ds1 to notice and say something like that is just highly unusual and is making me wonder whether they are actually correct. I feel silly posting this, but could they be right?</p>
<p>I think they’re pulling your leg! Probably wouldn’t happen so quickly but maybe in the next week you may see some movement. Teeth can move fast, but not that fast! I’m a dental hygienist and have seen tons of people in braces but never had a patient say they think their teeth moved in 1 day. Kids…</p>
<p>even if they did, your s would probly be passed out from the pain, it hurts enuff as it is!</p>
<p>but a word to the wise. they will move BACK quicker than u think if he doesnt wear his retainers when everything is said and done. i saw slite movement in as little as 2 weeks without wearing my retainers, and i was quick to put them back in (at nite)!</p>
<p>He needs to wear the retanier for as long as the <em>all day period that is</em> dintest says. I had mine taken off at 16 and i still wear mine at 19. Why? mine still try to move.</p>
<p>Oh, no pulling of the leg. They are serious! This morning, ds2 says, “Alright, they have DEFINITELY moved. I can’t believe you don’t see that.” I just tell them I don’t notice that kind of stuff, not that they’re nuts. ;)</p>
<p>While I don’t know how fast they move, I saw movement very quickly in my D2’s teeth when she got braces - it was fascinating to me and creepy to her how quickly they’d start shifting. Some of what they see may just be the difference of having the hardware in his mouth but I do think you can see some movement very early. Actually it was that quick movement that has convinced my D that she will have to be vigilant about wearing the retainers when all this is done because they will likely shift back if she doesn’t and I told her I only pay for it to be done the first time!</p>
<p>Re: retainer.
Back in the dark ages of orthodontia (the 70’s), I wore braces, but only had a top retainer which I wore at night for 4 years. Top teeth still look great, bottom teeth moved around and are crooked. I used this as a “visual aid” when D got her braces off and she wore her own retainers (top and bottom) for 4 years.</p>
<p>My kids say “yes your teeth do move that quickly.” They were encouraged to wear there retainers at night “forever.” and they will both tell you that if they don’t pop them in at night within a day or so the retainers are “tight” when they do put them in. Personally I don’t think it’s visible shifts that quickly but definitely non-visible shifting.</p>
<p>My DD had phase 1 braces with one top tooth that was slightly behind the bottom tooth resulting in a slight underbite and when her bands went on, her tooth moved to the correct position by the next morning!</p>
<p>I bought my d a 500.00 night guard. She stopped wearing her retainer during the day, causing the nightguard to feel tight. She started taking it out in her sleep and within a month, the nightguard was worthless, her teeth had moved too much to salvage it.
But, I will add, her problems were so severe that she had to have surgery to correct her bite, they ultimately could not be corrected through orthodontia alone.</p>
<p>I know they do not fix malocclusion, but did anyone have success with just straightening the teeth? Did any one’s teen use this method with orthodontia success? Thanks, I’d love to know.</p>
<p>The teeth can move very quickly, my youngest had an eye tooth that was way up high in the mouth, they put some kind of “chain” thing on it and said it would take about about 3-5 days to come down. The darn tooth was all the way down the next day – great result, but the poor kid didn’t sleep allnight, so much pressure in the mouth. We’ve put three through braces now. The first was smooth sailing and quick, the second had every mouth apparatus ever invented, but I have to say at 15 now he’s quite the handsome guy with a great smile! My youngest is ever so close to being done, just not quite perfect yet. I think for our ortho, it’s as much art as science!!</p>
<p>They shift–if not visibly, as others have said–very quickly. My sister and I got braces at the same time about 6-7 years ago. The night we got the “spacers” put in, my sister and I were already sore. Woke up in the morning nearly crying from the pain. Same thing when they first put the braces on. Why do you think kids come home in pain from getting braces tightened? It’s because the teeth are already shifting.</p>
<p>If you’re not sure your kid is going to wear his/her retainers, ask your ortho about bonded retainers. I have one on the bottom. It’s a very small bar that runs behind your teeth and keeps them from moving. You never have to take it out…although it did scare my dentist have to death the first time I came in after getting my braces off! The hygienist asked me if I had broken my jaw, and when I told her no, asked me “what that thing on the X-ray was”. The dentist came in, looked at it, laughed, and told her. =)</p>
<p>I think they can do the bonded retainers on the top as well, but my jaw is set in such a way that my bottom teeth would have been worn down by resting on the bar when I close my mouth. So I have the removable one that I wear at night.</p>
<p>Ortho has told ds he’d need to wear the retainer indefinitely but tapering as time went by.</p>
<p>We looked at Invisalign, but insurance doesn’t cover any portion so we decided not to do it. Some docs seemed more experienced than others. Ds’s ortho felt like ds could do them, but our dentist didn’t think he would be a good candidate because of one tooth that was high on the gums and would need to be brought down. I’m sure part of it had to do with the doctors’ experience level. Our ortho said he’s done hundreds of Invisalign but my dentist is pretty new to the field.</p>
<p>My two S’s both have the permanent retainer on the bottom teeth. Both have had them to break or pop off but have had them repaired. Neither wear their reg. top retainer anymore. Both had a Herbst appliance that was far more agonizing than the braces.
I’m positive the Herbst started moving teeth the minute it was installed.</p>
<p>freecycle, my S2 had both canine teeth stuck lying sideways all the way up under his nose. He had the chains attached (oral surgery) to pull them down but it took many months to make it happen.</p>
<p>My son had Invisaligns and they worked very well. His teeth appeared very straight in about 6 to 7 months. Towards the end of the treatment, he lost one of the trays and didn’t get back to the dentist and they began shifting back. He has recently talked with his dentist about re-doing the whole thing and his dentist said it would not take as long as before because they had not gone completely back. The biggest problem with young people and the Invisaligns is loosing them. They take them out to eat and you really can’t see them in the table. Many times as I was wiping the table off after dinner I would sweep them up and not see them. And because they have to take them out the lost factor greatly increases. I don’t think they correct serious bite problems, more for minor cosmetic straightening.</p>
<p>I consider it a middle school rite of passage to spend an afternoon pawing through the cafeteria garbage for a retainer that had been carefully placed on the lunch tray. Seems like someone was doing it practically every day.</p>