What is the BEST way to intrude teeth?

[VA5]

I was out of braces for... I think it's been at least 2 1/2 months.. . But, I wasn't happy with my smile line.. the curve of the teeth (straight across) while I was smiling didn't follow the curve of my lips (the nice curve upward on both sides) and it looked really weird... it didn't give me a pretty smile at all. It looks like a grandpa smile, if I can describe it like that.

To fix it, my ortho put braces on my top teeth today, with the hopes to intrude the canines... if they are shorter I feel like my teeth will have a more curved look and will appear to follow my smile line more, instead of just cutting straight in a horizontal like line. I don't ask a lot of questions so I am not completely sure how she's accomplishing it. I think she positioned my brackets in a way that will push them in, and I guess she'll rely on only the force of the wire to do it. Is this the BEST way to intrude these teeth?

I'd love professional and patient opinions and advice regarding how they have had teeth intruded in their mouth or their patients mouth. And, maybe some idea how long something like this will take. Thanks in advance!!!

[sirwired]

There is no one universal "best" way. It all depends on the gory details of your particular situation. The best anybody here is going to be able to do is say how their ortho did it in their mouth.

The best way to get your questions answered about treatment time, how it works, etc. is to ask the office to schedule a "talk" appointment. (Either tacked on to the end of an adjustment or separately) and ask your Ortho. It's important to your treatment that you understand and trust your doctor.

But yes, generally the way to intrude or extrude teeth would be to put the bracket at the correct vertical point on the tooth, and let the archwire gently move it into place. (The archwire "wanting" to gently go from crooked back to straight is pretty much how modern orthodontics work... the magic of Nickel-Titanium alloy!)

[ArchWired28]

I think they also place bends on the wire to intrude/extrude teeth. Sometimes, TADs are used in the most complicated cases.

[chocolate1978]

Wow VA5. You must really, really love braces. If I remember correctly, you had them taken off a few months ago, then placed back on for something you didn't like. Then now you've removed them again and put them back on.

All that sanding they are doing on your teeth cannot be good for your enamel.

Anyway, I get the feeling that after they come off again this time, you will find something else that you aren't happy with and ask/demand for them to be replaced yet again. I don't think you will be ever satisfied completely.

Ever heard the saying "The enemy of good is better?" I don't know, but I think you really need to stop worrying about the minor things, and look at the whole picture. I bet your teeth are at least 85% better than they were before and maybe you need to realize that braces cannot fix every single thing that YOU THINK needs to be fixed.

Good luck this time around. One question though, every time you get back in these braces, does it cost you more money? If so, you could probably be putting that money into something else.

[VA5]

Wow VA5. You must really, really love braces. If I remember correctly, you had them taken off a few months ago, then placed back on for something you didn't like. Then now you've removed them again and put them back on.

All that sanding they are doing on your teeth cannot be good for your enamel.

Anyway, I get the feeling that after they come off again this time, you will find something else that you aren't happy with and ask/demand for them to be replaced yet again. I don't think you will be ever satisfied completely.

Ever heard the saying "The enemy of good is better?" I don't know, but I think you really need to stop worrying about the minor things, and look at the whole picture. I bet your teeth are at least 85% better than they were before and maybe you need to realize that braces cannot fix every single thing that YOU THINK needs to be fixed.

Good luck this time around. One question though, every time you get back in these braces, does it cost you more money? If so, you could probably be putting that money into something else.

You are actually remembering incorrectly. I never had them put back on again, this is the first time. And actually my orthodontist who recommended that we put them back on again.. it's something she recommended even before she took my braces off (I think that was her way of acknowledging that she didn't think it was perfect but she wanted me to take a break b/c it had been nearly three years). And no I am not spending a dime on getting them put back in again. Now that you heard the correct story, do you have something more constructive to say to me? I have a feeling you're the type who just likes to criticize (and yes, it isn't nice to hear somebody make sweeping generalizations about somebody they don't know, now does it).

[chocolate1978]

Nope, nothing except my apologies for confusing you with someone else.

So if your orthodontist thought she made a mistake and wanted it fixed why did you let her take them off in the first place?

Good luck with that intrusion then.

[VA5]

Nope, nothing except my apologies for confusing you with someone else.

So if your orthodontist thought she made a mistake and wanted it fixed why did you let her take them off in the first place?

Good luck with that intrusion then.

No problem!

She made the argument late last year that sometimes it takes some settling in for the teeth without the braces before the final touches can be achieved (my teeth were being REALLY REALLY stubborn, not a typical case at all). And I really did need a break. I'm actually totally fine having them in again, as long as it isn't too long, which it shouldn't be.

[MATTWOOD]

Hi,

I'm also trying to get teeth intruded. The front bottom 4. I have a lower track fitted a month ago or whatever and recall that the pain was in the teeth immediately to the side of the ones I want/need impacted.

I queried this at the time with the Ortho and he said that teeth do not necessarily need to feel pain to be moving. I still have a concern in the back of my mind though that rather than the 4 being moved-in the two are being pulled-out, but I'm in the hands of a professional so I've got to trust his judgement surely.

I've seen images of brackets being fixed at different levels where you can see the obvious intention is to pull or push a particular tooth, but my wire is a straight line as par as I can see. Should know more in two week when I go back I suppose and it is early days yet...

All the best with yours,

[VA5]

Mattwood,

I know exactly your concern. My understanding is that the wire wants to straighten so any bends in the wire will force the teeth to move so there is no more bend. Seems to make perfect sense. However when I get adjustments it never makes any sense when I am looking in my mouth. The right side of my mouth has no bend, for example, so I don't know how that canine will be intruded. The left side does have a pretty big bend (not really a bend, but the brackets were placed in such a way that there has to be a bend in the wire), but it isn't facing the direction that I'd think it'd have to go. I would THINK the tooth that needs to be intruded would have a bend going DOWN towards that tooth, on both sides, so that the wire would want to move straight and push that tooth in. However, the bend going towards that tooth is going UP towards the tooth on one side in particular, which would make me think that that tooth would end up being extruded. So, I just don't get it.

It's only been a few days so I have to be patient I guess and wait a few more weeks til my next appointment and hopefully there is some progress.