For Orthodontists?How often do they change the archwire?

Question

I got my braces tightened last week (on monday) and a bracket fell off the day after. Well, today I went to the orthodontist today for what I thought was just to put a bracket back on that fell off on my second molar. Long story short, when I got there my regular ortho. wasn't there (he travels around to three different practice he owns) anyway, the guy who was there looked at my teeth like they normally do and then said he was going to change the archwire on the bottom and re-tie the top. I was confused so I asked the assistant why they weren't putting the bracket back on and she said that this early in the treatment (I've only had braces for three months) it wouldn't effect anything to not have a bracket on that tooth, but she was going to change the archwire anyway to "jump-start" the movement in my lower arch. My question is, is it normal for the archwire to be replaced like that only a week later? Thanks :)

Answer 1

the bracket may have been pulled off because the wire was too heavy/thick/big. so he may have been putting on lighter/thinner/smaller wire and leaving off the bracket until next time.

ortho treatment is custom for each patient. there is no way to say what is considered 'normal' or not. some people get their wire changed once a week for a few months at any given point. it's just what their orthodontists prefers to do.

http://www.braces.org/