Uprighting a mesially-inclined (impacted) third molar

My right third molar has been impacted since it emerged in 2012. Apart from a couple of papers describing successful uprighting techniques, most information I found online and from orthodontists suggested that there wasn’t much you could do except extract them in this case.

I was reluctant to have mine extracted, and my ortho agreed to try and upright it as part of my expansion treatment, so I thought I’d post about it for the sake of future Googlers – the accepted wisdom from online and your family dentist might be out of date!

Here is a log of progress so far:

• 17 Jan ‘24: the first technique we tried was a wire attached to my lower expander and a bracket on the molar.

• 6 May ‘24: we installed another wire, this time just going between my second and third molars. (Same visit as MARPE and lower expander removal.)

• 5 Aug ‘24: tried a new wire with different mechanics. Unfortunately this came out while eating so my ortho decided to switch to a different tack altogether and do the uprighting with Invisalign.

• 16 Sep ‘24: picking up Invisalign trays to do the uprighting.