Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey guys.

Today I had an adjustment and the orthodontist didn't seem to be content with the progress I had made since the last adjustment. So she put me powerchains. So I started thinking. If powerchain is used to make the movement of teeth faster, as well as help with stubborn teeth, why don't they start from the very beginning with the powerchain? Is it because the movement of the teeth would then be too much for the teeth or..?

its because if the force of the archwire alone is enough to get the teeth moving there would be no need for an additional force from the powerchains considering the archwire is already enough. The powerchains are just elastics that have a greater force with the archwire that gets more difficult teeth to move usually if the tooth has to be rotated.

I was thinking the same thing; if powerchains are safe to use then why don't they put them on from the beginning? If it has more force then it probably does the job in less time. Or is any bone damage involved when using powerchains for a long time?