Metal Mouth Message Board

I know I might not get a response due to my question being too "professional", but I will try anyway - just in case. I know there are professionals posting here, and some of the fellow brace-wearers are knowleadgeable in many aspects as well.

I am wearing a unilateral class II elastics (upper canine to 2nd lower molar) to correct my "slight" unilateral class II + upper midline deviation. It is a lite 5/16" 3.5oz elastics (green bag). I have full arches bonded and currently is in the Australian wires. My questions are:
- will this elastics cause maxillary molar distalization?
- can it derotate the 1st maxillary molars?
- overall, isn't it too weak to derotate or distalize anything?
- I have an open space (sectioned bridge) on my 2nd maxillary premolar on the class II side that I want to keep open for an implant. This empty space is directly adjacent to the maxillary 1st molar. Won't this space interfere with the forces that elastics are meant to place on the maxillary molar? I.e. won't it simply push the premolars into an empty space w/o moving the molar?
I was adviced that for now, I have to have lite elastics to avoid canting of occlusal plane. As my ortho says and I know it myself, my unilateral class II is primarily dental.

Thanks!

My understanding is that although the molars are affected by the forces from the elastics, molars have more roots so they will win the tug-o-war between them and the less rooted canines. As you guessed, your doc is probably playing it safe by using wimpy elastics to affect the molars even less and gently coax the canines into a new place.

orangeracer

thanks for your reply! Funny enough, my canines are in the correct position or very close to it - the doc did notice this. This is molar to molar that is in class II, and the upper midline is noticeably off. I am a skeletal class I, however I have developed a dental class II on one side after the dentist screwed up with the bridge. This gives my TMJ very hard times and I am more than eager to have it fixed ASAP.
I am not expecting that elastics that lite could move the molars, although this is what I need. Therefore, I am not hoping for anything dramatic. Unfortunately, he cannot give me strong elastics due to a side effect of occlusal cant that is common with unilateral elastics. I am hopeful that eventually he will be able to give me something stronger, while compensating the other normal side with holding elastics to avoid occlusal cant.