my ortho wasn’t thrilled, but my wallet definitely appreciated it.
That’s pretty much my logic too. But I’ve always wondered—does delaying a tightening actually risk messing up the alignment, or is it just about extending the timeline? My ortho said monthly was ideal, but sometimes I’d go 6-7 weeks with no issues.
Honestly, I stressed about this a lot when I had braces. My ortho was strict about monthly visits, but life happens, and sometimes I’d push it to six weeks too. I never noticed any setbacks—just felt like the process dragged on a bit longer. I don’t think you’re risking alignment issues if it’s just an occasional delay. Your teeth aren’t going to suddenly get messed up from an extra week or two, at least in my experience. If your ortho isn’t too worried, I’d trust your gut (and your wallet).
I feel the same way—missing or delaying an appointment always makes me nervous. I’ve had to push mine back a couple times, and even though my ortho said it was fine, I kept worrying I’d mess something up. Like you said,
That’s what happened with me too. I didn’t notice any big changes, but I kept overthinking it. Guess I just don’t want to risk making this take any longer than it has to.“just felt like the process dragged on a bit longer.”
Yeah, I totally get what you mean about the anxiety—it’s like, even if the ortho says missing or rescheduling one appointment won’t ruin anything, it’s still hard not to stress about it. I’ve had to push my appointments back a couple times because of work and honestly, every time, I kept checking my teeth in the mirror, half-expecting something to go wrong. Nothing ever did, but it’s easy to spiral and think you’re messing up the whole process.
From what I’ve noticed, the timing between adjustments really depends on how your teeth are moving. My ortho usually aims for every 5-6 weeks, but sometimes it’s 8 weeks if things are progressing slower or if there’s a scheduling conflict. I did ask once if delaying by a week or two would set me back, and he said that in most cases it just means you’re staying at the same stage a little longer—not actually reversing progress or anything. Still, like you said, it just makes everything feel like it’s dragging.
One thing I’ve found is that the discomfort after a tightening doesn’t really last as long if there’s a bigger gap between appointments. Not sure if that’s just me, but when I had to wait 8 weeks between visits instead of 5, the pain was less intense after the adjustment. Maybe because my teeth weren’t moving as fast? Who knows.
I guess the main thing is just to try not to overthink it (easier said than done). A week or two here and there probably won’t make a huge difference in the end, but yeah, I always feel better when I’m sticking to the schedule. It’s just hard not to worry when you want to be done as soon as possible.
Yeah, I totally get what you mean about the anxiety—it’s like, even if the ortho says missing or rescheduling one appointment won’t ruin anything, it’s still hard not to stress about it.
That’s interesting about the pain being less intense with longer gaps. I’ve noticed something similar with my kid—when we had to stretch it to 7 weeks because of a family trip, she barely complained after the next tightening. But honestly, I still get nervous about pushing appointments back. The ortho always says, “A week or two won’t matter,” but I can’t help thinking about the cost and time we’re already putting in.
Curious if anyone’s ortho ever actually recommended a longer interval on purpose? Ours is pretty strict about the 6-week mark unless we ask to change it.
