Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm 14 months into my braces "experience." At my last visit they put what they call Jigs on top. This is whay my rubber bands are hooked to now on top. I guess I am concerned because they are tearing up the inside of my cheeks and my teeth are not sore at all. I'm wondering if they are doing anything. Has anyone ever had these?? Thanks!

Yep, I've got em too. We call them "buttons." I have ceramic ones in the front, and then some metal ones in the back where they can't be seen. The ceramic ones are horribly sharp and still tear up my lips. They also don't hold the bands as well as the metal ones. Some folks find that they can attach their elastics to their lingual brackets, but I think that really depends on your teeth and gum shape. The little pointy tops of my brackets are pretty much buried in my palate so there is no attaching the elastics there for me.

I currently have three of them, one on top and two on the bottom. I remember the first one was very painful, I had to keep wax on it for a few weeks to keep it from cutting into my cheek. They either lose some of the edge or your mouth toughens up after a while, asnow I forget they're even on.

If it's still a problem after a few weeks, ask your ortho. He/she may be able to do something about it.

What is the purpose of Jigs? I've had my ibraces for 10 months now and we've never discussed them.

thanks

To close or realign your bite