Do class II elastics really move your teeth?

[braceface2b]

I got class II elastics today from my upper canines to my lower 2nd molars, along with some other elastics along my upper archwire designed to pull my front teeth back.

Though I totally understand how the other elastics will pull my four front teeth back, I'm a little skeptical that my entire lower arch will move forward from the class II elastics. Do class II elastics really move your teeth, or do they more or less just train your jaw to stay in a new position? If that's the case, how does it stay trained when the elastics are gone?

[kaylaa]

I think that it keeps your jaw forward but I also think that it pulls your upper teeth back as well. Maybe an ortho can shed some light in this.

[38Illinois]

If you wear them as prescribed you will be amazed how much they will move your teeth. They closed my bilateral open bite within weeks. I am currently wearing four.

[spinme]

I've had elastics for the last 2 weeks from lower molars to upper canines and the molars have been pulled forward and closed the extraction gaps I had. So they've worked really fast. I hope my ortho does something with my upper molars when I see him next as my bite is now really off.

[braceface2b]

Probably should have been a little more specific... I totally get how they could work to close gaps, etc. but in my case, that's not what they're doing because there are no gaps they could act on.

I have some huge gaps between my upper incisors and canines. There are some hooks clamped to my upper archwire just outside the incisors. These have some sort of mondo super heavy duty elastics connecting them to my upper 1st molars. I don't personally change these elastics out. The idea is to pull my four front teeth backward to make the gaps smaller and fix my overbite.

I also have class II elastics stretching from my upper canines (on the other side of the gap from my incisors) to my lower 2nd molars. I do change these elastics out. It seems somewhat unlikely to me that all my lower teeth will migrate forward from this, and though somewhat more likely, I'm skeptical that my canines on top and the 3 teeth behind them on top will all move backward from these elastics given what I've read here about moving molars.

That's what makes me wonder if the real purpose of these is to train my jaw into a new position.

[VA5]

Personally I've never heard of elastics used to train your jaw into a new position. I have only heard of them pulling teeth back to close gaps, or to correct bite issues (cross bites, open bites, etc). I "think" that they can be used to level your teeth too, which I guess is a bite issue too. And, I would imagine that there would be some pressure on the bottom teeth to pull forward too. I know it seems so unlikely but actually everything that happens in my mouth seems so unlikely. I don't feel pain most of the time, it's just a gentle pressure that is applied to your teeth that causes the bones to breakdown and the teeth to move around, and that's why it takes so long too. I don't think anything with ortho is that obvious, it should be subtle throughout the entire course of your treatment.

[DrJasonKTam]

Short answer: moves your teeth.

You won't grow a lower jaw and if you are only trained to posture your jaw forward, that is taking your joints out of their position of comfort, and you may eventually get TMD. The goal of orthodontic treatment is to have the teeth fit together properly, with the joints in a comfortable position.

[TumbleDryLow]

From the sound of it, your bottom teeth are going nowhere. The bottom arch is serving as an anchor for the elastics to pull your front 4 teeth back.
Curious---do you have powerchains right now?

[braceface2b]

From the sound of it, your bottom teeth are going nowhere. The bottom arch is serving as an anchor for the elastics to pull your front 4 teeth back.
Curious---do you have powerchains right now?

There's no way the elastics going from my top arch to my bottom arch could be pulling my four front teeth back. They're not connected. I guess they're pulling my canines through my upper molars back. There are separate elastics working on the front four.

I don't currently have any powerchains on my top teeth. The front four had one previously, but they're tied together with the lacing wire now. I have a powerchain from first molar to first molar on the bottom.

[nifer237]

I've had my uppers and elastics on for one week (bottoms for 4 mos.) and my overbite is already being repaired. I never could bite down with both my bottom and upper teeth matching up and now they can. And the space in between my overbite (about .5 inch) is significantly smaller.