It's very common for orthodontists to place upper braces first and wait several months before placing lower braces. Some reasons may be:1) Because of the way the upper and lower teeth fit together, the upper teeth may need to be moved out of the way first before there is room to place lower braces. Otherwise you may bite on the lower braces and either cause damage to your upper teeth or break off the lower braces.2) There is more work to be done to the upper teeth and since patients prefer to have upper and lower braces removed at the same time at the end of treatment, your orthodontist may be getting a head start with the upper teeth without needed to place lower braces yet3) I often give patients a chance to get used to the upper braces in regards to soreness and learning to maintain the braces before jumping into a full mouth of braces. Think about how much harder it would be to eat if both your upper and lower teeth were very sensitive at the same time!
