white wires?

[jem]

I have had a sectional brace with Damon clear brackets on my top front 6 teeth since January 3. When the brace was fitted, I was pleased to find that I had been given a white coloured wire. Presumably as a result of my conscientious brushing, some of the white coating on the wire has now gone and the wire is now partly white and partly silver . Has anyone else had this experience? Any ideas on how to avoid further loss of the white coating?

Also, does anyone know whether the white coloured wires are only available for the first small round profile archwires or are they also available for the subsequent rectangular cross-section wires?

Thanks,

Jem

[plugnickel69]

It seems that many people on this board have complained of white wires flaking after a awhile. In this age of space technology you would thing they would have already solved this problem.

[kbp22]

I have what my ortho calls "clear" but is really a white wire on my uppers...and yes, with vigorous brushing the white did rub off a bit in the very front, exposing the silver color. They do come in the square, later stage wires as well as the thinner, round, early stage wires.

[kennyandrew85]

I have the White wires also and yes, heavy brushing or eating anything rough will slowly turn them back to silver. Lately I have had clear power chains over the top which have protected the wires whiteness!!

They do have thick wires in White that's what I'm in at the moment. However because I kept them so White and they are already very thick. For some reason my ortho didn't swap the wire and I'm now 9 weeks into this wire and it's going silver noooooooo

[kellyb]

yes, i have this problem! i am currently wearing radiance clear braces with white wire on my lower teeth and just 2 weeks after they fitted, i noticed the right side had gone silver and the left side was still white. i called the ortho office as i thought maybe i was doing something wrong. they said it is expected normal wear and tear but they were so surprised that mine was stripping after just 2 weeks. they told me i could come in at anytime to get it replaced free of charge but to be honest, i couldnt be bothered as getting the time off work would be a challenge. of course if it was a genuine emergency i would have to find the time but i chose to live with the half white/half metal wire for another 4 weeks.

[jem]

Hi Kellyb. I am glad to know it is not just me! I have lost quite a lot more of the white coating in the 5 days since my last post and it is now nearly all silver from the front. It is still not too noticeable as it is a very small wire ( no idea what gauge). I am due back at my orthodontist on 14 Feb and hope she will replace the wire even if do not strictly need a change.

The practice administrator has told me that not all wires sizes are available in white, so I will presumably have a silver wire at some point. Have your wires all been white so far and do you expect all your future wires to be white?

Regards

Jem

[kellyb]

my first ajustment is on 18 Feb (was changed from 11 Feb due to the ortho going on a course) so i should get my wire changed then. he did tell me at consultation that he only uses white wire so presume that is all i will be getting in the future. if it is going to strip like this every month, i would rather have a metal wire to begin with. will see how my next wire goes. tomorrow will be 4 weeks since i had my bottoms fitted and there is still some white coating on the left side. i have noticed that i tend to eat on the right side of my mouth so perhaps that is partly to be blame

[jem]

I have my first adjustment tomorrow and should be getting a new wire. I shall ask for another white wire even though the coating will probably come off again. Whilst the white wire with some coating missing looks scruffy lose up, I still think it has overall a more discreet appearance.

Jem

[kellyb]

i do agree with you jem. let me know how your first adjust ment goes tomorrow. mine will be saturday 18th and i am actually looking forward to it
i must be crazy but i am finding this whole braces journey awesome so far. i wonder if i will fell the same way when my upper arch is fitted next month?

[jem]

Kellyb,

Thank you for your interest. My first adjustment went well yesterday. I had not seen much progress in my first 6 weeks, so my orthodontist did some IPR between my teeth ( basically sanding down the edges which sounds awful but was OK and did not hurt at all). I think IPR will be a feature of my future appointments so I am glad it did not bother me.

I have a new white-coated round profile wire, apparently size 18. I don't know what size the previous wire was, but I would guess this is about 50% bigger. I will try brushing less aggressively and with a soft toothbrush this time round to see whether that might help the coating survive a bit longer. I have 7 weeks 'til my next appointment because my ortho is on holiday the previous week. She did say that she might add brackets to my pre molars next time if there is still no progress in untwisting my rotated left canine,. At the moment I have clear Damon brackets just on the front 6 teeth. I don't know whether it is possible to get Damon clear brackets for the premolars or whether I will get metal.

I still have no pain, but my teeth already feel a little tender and slightly loose, which is how I expected to feel when the brace was first fitted. Hopefully that means I will be seeing some movement by the time of my next adjustment

Kellyb, I hope your first adjustment on Saturday goes well too and that you will soon be moving onto treatment of your upper arch.

Regards,

Jem

[kellyb]

thanks jem
i will keep you advised on how things go for me on saturday. i am actually looking forward to it

[kellyb]

had my first adjustment on the weekend and i now have a brand new white wire
i have gone up from .014 to .018!

the ortho thinks maybe i was brushing too rigorously so i will try and tone it down abit this time and see if any improvements. next appointment 17th march

[jem]

Kellyb,

It sounds like you have the same wire as me. We will both be trying to preserve the white coating better this time. When are you due the next wire change? I will be 7 weeks between appointments.

Jem

[kellyb]

hi jem
the .018 wire looks massive compared to the previous .014 . how many more sizes up are there? not sure if i will enjoy having anything bigger than this one lol.

my next adjustment is on 17th march when they will change the wire at bottom and also fit braces on my upper arch. regarding the wire losing its white coating, the ortho did say i could pop in anytime i want to have the wire changed free of charge. i didn't do it last time as it wasn't obvious to anyone else but me. last time i had the wire for 6 weeks but this time it will only be 4 weeks so hopefully i will survive

[jem]

Hi Kellyb,

I think my first wire must have been 0.012 and the new one looks huge in comparison. I think the next wires are rectangular in profile rather than just bigger. I have seen them described as 0.014 x 0.025 or 0.018 x 0.025. I assume they will also be available in white.

I understand the white coating adds to the size of the wire and I don't know whether my Damon brackets will accommodate something as big as 0.025 plus white coating. No doubt I will find out in due course!

I imagine that with care you will be able to keep the coating on your archwire reasonably intact if it is only 4 weeks to your next appointment.

Good luck with your top brace. I saw your picture in your other post and the bottom brace looks good. I hope the top one will be a good match.

Jem

Jem