When teeth hit brackets--in front!

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#1 Post by **genxsis** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 1:40 pm

I've been using the elastics to correct my frontal overbite for a couple months now and it has progressed quickly. But maybe a little too quickly perhaps. My top eye teeth have come in to the point that they are hitting the brackets of my lower teeth, and my lip gets caught between them all the time, and I keep biting my lip. Also, as my upper front teeth come in, they will have the same problem, but since they are longer teeth, when they start hitting the lower brackets, it will prevent me from closing my mouth all the way and chewing.

I just got back from my adjustment where I asked the ortho about this concern. He said "keep wearing the bands".

I asked "what about when I can't close my mouth or chew"?

"Keep wearing the bands"

I asked "Won't it harm my teeth if they are hitting the brackets when I'm chewing"?

"Keep wearing the bands"

Since he wouldn't answer my questions, could someone here please help me? What do you do when you can close your mouth or chew food because a tooth is striking a bracket preventing further movement of your mouth?

#2 Post by **ame_malia** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 4:10 pm

I don't wear elastics (well, not yet anyways), but I have a similar problem. My top teeth would hit the brackets on my bottom teeth, but I wear a bite plate to prevent this from happening. It sucks because it prevents me from closing my mouth completly, and I'm gonna have to live with this thing in my mouth for 3-6 months until my teeth move enough that I won't bite off my brackets.

It sounds like you've already tried to talk to your ortho about this and he wasn't helpful, but maybe you could try to talk to him again, or maybe talk to one of his assistants. They can be really helpful too, and they may be less busy and have more time to answer your questions than your ortho. Until then, I would be really careful about chewing, but if you do happen to bite off a bracket, at least then your ortho will have to acknowledge the problem and do something to fix it. Maybe you'll end up with a bite plate too!

#3 Post by **Chris** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:54 pm

Is your elastic configuration from upper canine to lower 1st molar?

Perhaps the arch wire will correct your situation at the same time the elastics are doing their job. Maybe thats why he just kept repeating himself. I know, its a shame, when they don't answer your questions more specifically. Keep pressing.

#4 Post by **genxsis** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:32 am

My elastics go from the upper eye tooth down to the lower first molar. I'm not sure if canine is the same as eye tooth or not.

That bite plate idea may be helpful. It doesn't sound like much fun, but it might be what I'll need to correct the problem before it gets worse. My next appointment is 2 months away, so there should be some progress for the ortho to see by then so he can (hopefully) make a decision about it one way or the other.

#5 Post by **jcdamon3** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:56 am

My top teeth were hitting my lower brackets for awhile and it was extremely annoying. It made it really hard to eat especially since the lower teeth were sore.. it really hurt in addition to being annoying. I think he is telling you to keep wearing the elastics because this is going to go away soon. I think mine went away in a few weeks. As you wear your braces your bite opens up and the top teeth will stop hitting.

I hope for you it is true, as it was for me. I didn't have elastics early in my treatment nor do I have them now, and my bite opened up without elastics. It is just the leveling of the teeth that did it for me.

Hope this helps...