Anyone had a "Distalizer" on one side only?

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#1 Post by **teezo** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:16 pm

Hello!

I haven't given up yet

My history is here in case anyone is interested:
viewtopic.php?t=24545

One of the solutions to my problem could be a distalizer pulling teeth back on one side only. However, the orthodontist making the suggestion wasn't comfortable with this as he said he had no idea how my jaw would respond to having the distalizer pull one side of my teeth only.

Has anyone had a distalizer first of all, and were they happy with the way it worked and looked.

Has anyone had a distalizer on one side only?

Thanks!
~Teezo~

#2 Post by **Lisa65** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:38 pm

I am having molar distalization at the moment. I had class 2 molars and did not want more teeth extracted, so my ortho decided to try and move ALL my top teeth back - no mean feat when my molars have to move at least 5 mm each.

The problem with distalization is anchorage. If you try and move molars back, you can end up with the front teeth coming forward instead, as they move more readily than the molars. So generally some form of "absolute anchorage" is used such as miniscrews, which can be used to anchor the front teeth so that they do not move, and all the pushing force is transferred to the molars.

A lot of orthos are not keen to try and distalize molars in adults, but I am living proof it can be done.

It is slow progress though, but if your ortho used a similar method to the one my ortho used, there's no reason why it couldn't be done on just one side. I did not have a special distalizing appliance, just miniscrews and push-coil springs to push the molars back and open up gaps.

If you went down this road, would you then have an implant to replace that missing lateral?

#3 Post by **vector** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:57 pm

I have a Greenfield molar distalizer on both sides of my top arch. Had it for about 3 months now with no problems. The idea in my case it to push the first and second molars back at the same time and then pull the rest of the arch back once the molars are in position. It's anchored at the front of my mouth like a nance so the springs have something to push against. Just to make things more fun the front piece is also a non removable bite plate.

Anyway, in three months I've noticed some movement but it is slow going.

Vector

#4 Post by **teezo** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:27 pm

Lisa65 wrote: If you went down this road, would you then have an implant to replace that missing lateral?

I'm trying any way to avoid having an implant. I don't think I will go through with it if an implant is a must.

But I guess if you move the molar on one side, therefore correcting the bite from a class II, what happens to the other side? It probably should get corrected as well. Depending on how many mm that takes, I will be left with 3+ mm space that needs to be filled in somehow. (3 mm midline discrepency in the first place, and then however many mm to correct class II bite).

The ortho who suggested this (second consult) said that it would take 6-8 months with the Carriere Distalizer to move my teeth. Followed by 6-8 months of braces to fix the front.

I'm going to try one more ortho consult. If she can't give me any new information or I have to have an implant, I will give up. As you can see though, I am very tenacious!!

So for 6-8 months I would only have a distalizer, no braces. Did you all have this as well? Was it very noticeable? Was it very painful? Do you have any pictures of the distalizer on your teeth?

VECTOR: How many mm do your teeth have to move, and in the months you have had it, how many mm have they moved already?

#5 Post by **vector** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:03 am

My molars have to move about 5 mm and in 3 months they have moved about 1.5 mm. The distalizer really isn't noticeable as mine sits in the rear of my mouth. I also have the top front 6 teeth braced with ceramics and the bottom arch braced in metal. I go in for my 10 week checkup this Friday so I should have a better idea of what my progress has been.

Vector

#6 Post by **Lisa65** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:53 am

Teezo, I didn't have any kind of special distalizing appliance. I had 2 miniscrews inserted just behind my canines and my canines are wired up to them so that they can't move forward. Then my ortho used springs to push the molars back.

This pic shows the distalizing loop he made to move the 2nd molars.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i192/ ... 0right.jpg

and this pic shows what he is using to move the first molars into the gaps created (just ordinary push coil springs on the archwire)
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i192/ ... t27feb.jpg

I don't altogether follow your train of thought though regarding moving your molars. on your other thread I can see your bite is almost edge to edge anyway. If you move the molars back on one or both sides, you will end up with large gaps, surely? I have a 9mm overjet so in my case the distalization is to make space for my front teeth to (eventually) move back, but you don't have that leeway. If you move your back teeth backwards, even if you get your midline sorted, you will have at least one gap somewhere, because of the missing lateral. There is going to be an asymmetry somewhere if you don't go for an implant or a bridge.

#7 Post by **teezo** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:36 am

Lisa65 wrote:
I don't altogether follow your train of thought though regarding moving your molars. on your other thread I can see your bite is almost edge to edge anyway. If you move the molars back on one or both sides, you will end up with large gaps, surely? I have a 9mm overjet so in my case the distalization is to make space for my front teeth to (eventually) move back, but you don't have that leeway. If you move your back teeth backwards, even if you get your midline sorted, you will have at least one gap somewhere, because of the missing lateral. There is going to be an asymmetry somewhere if you don't go for an implant or a bridge.

Yes, there will be a 3 mm gap that I will have to fill somehow if I just move the left molar to right canine over to the left. I thought with bonding 1.5 mm of teeth, on two teeth, on the right side (maybe two molars or something not noticeable), maybe I could get away with that.

All in all, I guess it comes down to...do I really want to go through all this work to fix something that only I notice???!!!! Will it bug me for the rest of my life and will I regret not fixing it? I mean, I regret it now. But maybe I'll stop caring after awhile.....

#8 Post by **teezo** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:15 pm

Meryaten wrote:This sounds messed up to me. A 3 mm gap does not allow for an implant, so it almost seems like this distalising plan causes more issues than it solves ... Am I just very confused?

I think maybe the first option that ortho talked about was using the distalizer to move both sides back, therefore, creating more than a 3 mm gap in order to fit an implant.

It confuses me too. And I feel like, after I leave the office I think of so many questions, and have no way to email or ask him. I don't like that, as I don't think on my feet very well, but have many questions afterwards, you know?

I hate this, and just wish someone would do SOMETHING about it!! Honestly, I think this ortho didn't think it was much of a problem so he didn't want to fix it.