What happens at an adjustment

A routine braces visit is short. We check what has moved since last time, change or tighten the wire, swap the little coloured ties, and sometimes add something new like elastics or a spring. The ache that follows for a day or two is the new wire starting work.

A typical visit

1. A look and a check

   How the teeth have moved, whether anything has broken, how the gums are looking. Tell us anything you have noticed.

2. The wire

   Early on, a thinner and more flexible wire does the levelling; later, thicker and stiffer wires do the finer steering. Changing it takes a few minutes.

3. Anything new

   Elastics, a spring to open space, a hook, a small bend in the wire. If we add something, we will show you exactly what it does and how to look after it.

4. Colours

   The small ties that hold the wire in are changed each visit. Pick a colour or go with clear; it makes no difference to the treatment.

Afterwards

Expect a milder version of the first-week tenderness for a day or two. Soft food for dinner that night and cold water help. Any new wire end that pokes can be covered with wax and we will trim it at the next visit, or sooner if it is bothering you.