New mouth impressions, adjusting the Do Not Adjust appliance

10/20/11 I have just made a correction to my January 30, 2011 blog entry. The appliance is NOT called "Do Not Adjust". It is supposed to be called "Daytime-Nighttime Appliance™"

Monday they took a new set of upper & lower impressions plus a new impression of the bite registration so that the lab can make an appliance for my lower teeth. The new appliance ought to be ready in about 10 days.

The dentist spent some time bending the springs at the front of the appliance, as well as the wire that arches across in front of all the teeth. She also removed one spring- the one that relates to my farthest-forward canine tooth- because we don't want it to come any farther forward. In addition the arch wire now touches that tooth, to prevent it from moving farther forward. All that was done to assist getting my front teeth in line.

I am still to expand the anterior portion of the appliance on schedule, while leaving the lateral adjustment alone. The gap for the anterior plate is now visibly wider than the gap for the lateral plates.

 You can also see where one of the springs has been removed. There is a whitish area there now because in order to remove the spring, the dentist removed some of the acrylic it was anchored into. Then she mixed some new acrylic to re-fill the gap she created. Her repair acrylic was white.