Aside from “when do my braces come off?”, our Gainesville and Lake City, FL, orthodontists receive the “tightening” question a fair amount at the onset of treatment. While every patient is different, it’s generally recommended that you come in every 4-6 weeks for adjustments.
Here’s what you should know about and why they’re important.
Purpose of Follow-Up Visits
Believe us, we understand that finding the time to come into our Gainesville and Lake City, FL, orthodontics offices isn’t always easy. After all, there’s school, work, and socializing to contend with. It might not be ideal, but it is what you sign up for when you choose ceramic or metal braces for your smile.
The orthodontic treatment plan created for you by our orthodontists requires frequent check-ins to keep your progress on track. Missing these types of appointments can throw off your treatment completely, result in needed corrections, and add to your time wearing braces.
Generally, there are 4 major components to a follow-up visit with our orthodontists. Those include:
- Changing the archwire so it’s stiffer
- Adding on or changing out elastics
- Replacing rubber bands ()
- Adjusting or tightening ligature wires
There is a chance that your visit may involve additional steps but our team will be sure to brief you about what’s needed before getting started.
What Can I Expect?
If you selected either Invisalign® aligners or Progressive aligners for your orthodontic treatment, your checkup appointments will be shorter and much less involved. We may even be able to conduct virtual exams. Otherwise, the structure of your visits will be pretty standard each time you come in.
After you check in at the front, you’ll meet with one of our clinical assistants who will get started making the necessary adjustments to your braces. Before you leave, however, our orthodontists will take a closer look at your progress. You’ll be on your way after that – until next time!
Visit Length
If there’s something that needs fixing at your checkup appointment, that can mean you’ll be in the exam chair for longer. We’re talking broken wires, brackets, and other loose components like a spacer or bands.
Common mishaps aside, you can expect a follow-up visit to last around 30 minutes give or take. Feel free to ask any questions you may have during this time. Our assisting team members and orthodontists would be more than happy to help.
Level of Discomfort
Fortunately, you should not experience much or any pain during a standard checkup with our orthodontists. Of course, all treatments and pain tolerances are different so it’s hard to generalize for all patients.
For example, your reaction to new forces being applied to teeth may be better or worse than another patient. One thing that will occur regardless of your personal pain tolerance is general soreness. This feeling is temporary and can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days following an adjustment.
To help combat soreness, we recommend eating soft foods after your appointment and taking over-the-counter pain medications as needed.
Make an Appointment
No one wants their treatment to be thrown off schedule or prolonged. To avoid this fate, our , encourage you to regularly attend checkup visits as instructed. Call one of our Progressive Orthodontic Associates offices today to request an appointment and get started.
