If you’ve read my previous blog entries, you’ll know that I’m a dentist at Straight Teeth Suite and have straightened thousands of patients’ smiles using different brace systems. I have documented my journey in this blog as a patient having treatment, using Damon Braces at the clinic under the care of Anna. Being on the other side of the fence as a patient in the chair has helped me to fully understand the treatment process from a patient’s perspective. In this entry you’ll find out what happened to those little gaps that developed between my teeth. I’ll also tell you all about power chains and how we use them in orthodontic treatment.
Progress report
As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I had some small gaps developing between my teeth, in particular behind my canines on both the top and the bottom. This is completely normal, as teeth move into place and create room for nearby teeth to move into the correct position.
At this review appointment, Anna placed a power chain around my teeth. A power chain isn’t a metal chain that you would expect to wear around your neck (as you might imagine!). It’s a fancy orthodontic elastic band with small loops that attach around the brackets to pull the teeth closer together as a result, closing those unwanted gaps. Having the power chain fitted was a little uncomfortable but it wasn’t painful.
When fitting a power chain on patients, I tend to find it a lot easier to put them on traditional metal brackets as opposed to the Damon Clear ones. This is because the metal ones have got sharper square corners, so it’s easier to hook the elastic on, while the Damon Clear bracket has rounded corners so it’s a bit more difficult to put the power chain loops around it.
Minor discomfort
Having the power chain on my braces was bearable. I had some mild discomfort, what I would describe as a dull ache, for the first 48 hours. I took some paracetamol to help me with the discomfort so that it wouldn’t affect me in the day. The paracetamol helped to take the edge off the pain. How you’ll feel really depends on your pain threshold. Some patients don’t feel any discomfort and others feel a little sore. I’m usually okay, but I think lately my pain tolerance has gone down, so I took some paracetamol just in case.
Closing the spaces
At this appointment we also focused on closing the spaces and with the power chain elasticity, it tends to work quite quickly.
When we’re at the finishing stages towards the end of treatment we like to review, so we have review appointments set about every four to six weeks to replace the power chains and make any tweaks or adjustments so we can maintain the closure of the spaces. This is what we did at this appointment.
It was pretty straightforward and quite exciting because the end is coming nearer and I can’t wait to see my teeth!
Are you currently wearing Damon Braces or going through any kind of orthodontic treatment? We would love to hear about your personal experiences, so please leave a comment below.