Replaced the wires before Eid

Finally Eid-Ul-Fitr was knocking on the door. So naturally there will be a vacation. Before the vacation started, I visited my dentist to ensure that progress continued over the time. It turns out, my current installation of the wires had almost worn out of their force and it was time for me get a new set of wires - this time, stronger and tighter. Well, worth the visit.

Congratulations!!! No disgusting pictures on this post; other than the pair of removable plates that were to be placed in my upper and lower jaws continuously. I got to take them off only before eating.

Got my bite plate for the upper jaw

I described in my previous post about my permanent tooth being erupted out with the help of archwires tied with the other teeth beside it.

I also described in an earlier post about getting bite plates on my lower jaw in order to prevent bad alignment from forming due to the tension of the wires. A similar precaution needed to be taken so that the eruption of my tooth was not affected.

As the permanent tooth was being pulled down by the wires tied with the surrounding teeth, there was every possibility that the surrounding teeth could be pulled close together by the permanent tooth, instead of the permanent tooth being pulled down by the surrounding teeth. So it was necessary to hold the other teeth in their respective positions while providing sufficient room for the permanent tooth to come down freely.

Hence, a plate was needed for the upper jaw so that it could clamp on to the other teeth and keep them in their respective positions while providing space to the hidden tooth.

upper plate was designed in such a way so that it holds the surrounding teeth in place and prevents the surrounding teeth being pulled in by the archwire. Meanwhile, provide space for the erupting tooth to come down freely without having to battle for space.

and the bite plate for my lower jaw as shared earlier in a previous post.

Here is a recap of the condition of my erupting tooth from an earlier post.

Am not sure if you can see the permanent tooth there, but it's right there - being pulled down by the archwire.

Disclaimer: If anyone is disgusted by these pictures, please press Ctrl+W (or Command+W on Mac)

Got my bite plate for the lower jaw

So, with the teeth of my lower jaw wired up, sometimes there is a chance that the pressure of the wire trying to correct the alignment would push the teeth backwards and form a bad alignment. What needs to be done is to also put pressure from the back side so that the the teeth are held in the desired alignment instead of forming a bad alignment.

A bite plate is a small, removable acrylic appliance that fits on the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth. It should feel secure and fit snugly - source

source: uniortholab.com

Bite plate behind the teeth on my lower jaw.
Notice the whitish transparent plates at the bottom and its clamps holding on to the molars beside the gaps.

Disclaimer: If anyone is disgusted by these pictures, please press Ctrl+W (or Command+W on Mac)

The clamps were needed to hold the molars in place so that the tension of the wire between the molars and the front teeth did not pull the molars forward, but instead pulled the front teeth along backward. Hence, the clamps would hold the molars in place to achieve just that InshAllah.