Elastics and sharp pain - Has this happened to anyone else?

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#1 Post by **DanceDiva** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:55 am

I've been wearing elastics to fix my overbite for a while now. The elastics go from bottom back tooth to my top canine (I'm not good with teeth names).

Here's what happened, yesterday I took a sip of a cold drink and OMG, had the worst horrible sharp pain on that canine ever.

Felt like the drink touched a nerve or something.

My friend mentioned that the elastics are putting contant pressure on the tooth and maybe I should go one night without wearing it. So I went last night without wearing the elastics and this morning it feels ok when I drink.

My ortho is out of town this week so it'll be next week before I can see him. His assitant recommended I give it a day or two and see what happens.

Anyway...has anyone experienced anything like this? I hope I don't need a root canal or something like that. I've never had one.

Thanks for your help!!!

Dancediva

#2 Post by **orangetammy** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:16 am

i think it's just sensitivity. i experience that a lot too, especially the first few days after adjustment when I have to wear elastics

#3 Post by **DanceDiva** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:41 am

Thank you for putting my mind at ease...

The only reason I started freaking out is because my friend told me it sounded like I might need a root canal. I'm so glad to hear ya'll don't that's what it is.

I'll just give it a day or two and hope the pain stays gone.

How would we survive without this website?!?!

#4 Post by **JoeMama** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:56 pm

Yes - I had this too. It was a really sharp pain instead of the normal achiness. It went away after about a week. I had to take the elastics off sometimes, when it got really bad. Eventually it did go away.

#5 Post by **jmrut22** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:09 pm

This happen to me too!! Just recently. I was sure I needed a root canal. Why? Because I have had one and that was exactly the pain I had felt when I needed a root canal. Only it didnt linger.

One morning I rinsed my mouth with cold water and OMG you would have thought someone pounded a nail in my tooth. Then it bothered me when cold air hit my tooth. I went to the dentist who said he thought it was "reversible pulpitis" meaning the nerve was inflamed and if it could be reversed great, if not the root would die upping my chances of needing a root canal. He thought it was caused by the elastics. The elastic was attatched to the tooth that was bothering me. I called my ortho and he said to take them off until I saw him in two weeks. The tooth got better by the day. When I went in he told me try the elastics again, if it did the same thing, leave them out a day or two and try again. I had no trouble this time and its been 5 weeks.

Good luck to you.

#6 Post by **DanceDiva** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:14 pm

jmrut22,
You have no idea how greatful I am for you post. I seriously have been freaking out because both my dentist AND my ortho won't be back in their offices till Monday and I had the pain again today after putting my elastics back on and drinking a cold drink.

OK...I know it's not the best thing for my progress, but I'm keeping these elastics out for a day or two. How you described it..."A nail going into your tooth" is EXACTLY how it feels. It's horrible! You have given me hope...I'm going to keep the elastics out for the next couple days (even if it sets me back) and hope this goes away!

Thank you thank you!

DD

#7 Post by **SDFD TSchott** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:52 pm

This happens to me to and my ortho said if I can live through the pain to keep the elastics off if I cannot then just give it like a minumual of 8 hrs relief.

~Tim~

#8 Post by **DanceDiva** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 7:28 am

So, the pain has just gotten unbearable and I'm going to see my Ortho and Dentist today. I hope it's nothing like you guys say...I'll keep ya posted.

#9 Post by **DanceDiva** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 11:39 am

OK, so I just got back from the ortho...he said the problem was most likely due to the fact that the hook for my rubberbands was loose on the archwire and had slid back and was putting all the pressure from my heavy rubberbands onto that one tooth. Some people have the hook built in on the bracket. My hook is on the archwire. The point of putting it on the archwire and not on the tooth's bracket is so the pressure is not pulling completely on one tooth but rather on the archwire as a whole.

Sooooo, he fixed the hook, told me to still go to my dentist this afternoon just to be sure and I should be fine. He also said...don't worry if you can't wear your rubberbands for a week or so. It's not a big deal.

Whew...that was really wordy, but I thought I should share since you guys have all been so helpful

#10 Post by **jmrut22** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:20 pm

Dance Diva
Hope all goes well. I took a two week vacation-per my ortho- and no I dont think it messed things up at all. I am supposed to wear them 24/7 but he said if it happen again to take them out a while and try again. The thing is the archwire is still moving that tooth so once the additional leverage from the elastics has a chance to settle the tooth will have probably already moved from the arch wire. Better to be safe than sorry because if too much pressure is put on that tooth, they root may suffer irreversiable damage and die. No ortho in thier right mind would want that. Just to update you its been close to 6 weeks and that pain has not returned. Hopefully I can make it through the elastics (how ever long that will be?)

#11 Post by **diande** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:51 pm

Sheesh, I am a few hours in elastics and I have had this awful experience when I had a glass of water after lunch - no exaggeration when the expression 'nails' was used in the posts above!

I'm surprised however that I only had that terrible pain on the side where I have a single rubberband (whereas the right side has 2 rubber bands for double force and no pain).

I'm so happy I found this post...I was going to just leave the rubberband in because I don't usually have cold drinks and I have a pretty high pain threshold I guess, but now I'm wondering if I should take them out....

#12 Post by **OlaLibra** » Fri May 11, 2007 6:03 pm

wow thank goodness i found this topic i've been searching all over this site for this exact topic. I have had elastic bands (rubber bands) in since early march and just recently well been lasting about 2 weeks i get this sharp pain on the canine where my elastic is attached to (my elastic is top molar to bottom canine) I had a teeth cleaning about a month ago and the dentist said i'm clear of cavities and the pain only comes when i drink something cold not with sweets (even though i rarely eat any) and warm drinks or cold air only pain with cold water. I was thinking it could be reversible pulpitis and i was thinking of giving my teeth a break from the bands for a day but i'm afraid that 1 day without them would lead to like a month added on to having to wear braces. Any suggestions

#13 Post by **wirerose** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:42 pm

I am so thankful that I found this post also! I have been having really horrible sharp pain in one of my teeth. I don't think it is pupitis or whatever because it goes away immediately when my tooth warms back up. From what I read on another dentist site, this means it is probably not a root canal problem. I think it is because that tooth is the one that needs the most adjustment in the whole top arch. Maybe it is actually moving. I hope so, I will be calling the ortho tomorrow morning. I don't even have elastics yet (not looking forward to them very much!).

Thank you so much for all of your detailed wordy posts! They are a lifesaver and will let me sleep a little easier tonight. = )

#14 Post by **diande** » Mon May 14, 2007 7:38 am

Hi everyone,

Here's the update on my rubberband/teeth pain: I put up with it like a soldier (seeing that I don't like to complain and I do believe in no gain without pain) for about 11 days - then I couldn't anymore. It was really unbearable and it felt like a nerve pain, not the usual my-teeth-is-moving pain.

So I took out the rubberband on the side that was giving the problem and left the other rubberbands in, and emailed my Ortho about it. She replied and said that I should remove all the rubberbands until she had a chance to see me (my next appt. was about 2 weeks away) or have it checked at a dentist in the interim. About 10 days later with no rubberbands and still having pain whenever any liquid (of any temperature) touched the teeth, I decided to buy Sensodyne toothpaste to see if it would relieve the pain. By the time I had my 8th Adjustment (last week Monday) the pain was minimal...Maybe a combination of time and the new toothpaste.

Needless to say, when my Ortho saw me she didn't see why my teeth were hurting but she decided to leave the rubberbands off for another 4 weeks until my 9th Adjustment (11th June). She also removed the powerchains and did single ligs except for the uppper and lower six front teeth.

I am really not looking forward to getting those rubberbands again.
Meryaten and all the others who only needed to remove the rubberbands for a few days before the pain went away, you make me really wonder what was going on with my teeth for a whole month!

Needless to say, my Ortho's estimate said I would be out of braces after 12 months and I felt I was so close to the end so I really dont want to be delayed. Hey, I even got purple ligs (a loyal clear lig gal like myself) in celebration of being so near the end!!!

#15 Post by **payoki** » Mon May 14, 2007 10:14 am

My canine has been sensitive for as long as I've been wearing elastics.
I'm also wearing elastics for my overbite and only my left canine is giving me the problem.
I just try to ignore the problem but the pain is pretty bad when I drink cold water or even try to rinse my mouth during brushing teeth.
The pain shoots up to the root and when I touch the gum area it's sore....
I just hope that it's nothing major...