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Well I'm wearing braces now for 5 months and got spacers on my back molars a few weeks ago then last week the ortho put on some kind of wire/metal on my back molars?
He's not the most approachable (unfortunately) and I asked him what are these for and he said oh you just need them! He then said to come back in 8 weeks for my adjustment again.
I have a 12mm overbite/overjet and I need lower jaw surgery. However, I'm left abit confused and not sure what the purpose of these are now on my back molars? Does anyone know?
are they metal bands that go around each of your molars? In some cases brackets can't be placed on the back teeth and molar bands are needed to hold the wire in place (they're kind of like a wrap around bracket I guess).
Alternatively are you expecting any other kind of device to be used in your treatment? Some other devices get anchored onto molars as well.
Thanks Tobilei and Ciara, yes it must be metal bands. The ortho had to keep changing them to find the right size and I had to bite down on them several times. He never said about any further devices so sounds as if I'll be wearing something else down the line...wondering what it is...
Harmony wrote:Thanks Tobilei and Ciara, yes it must be metal bands. The ortho had to keep changing them to find the right size and I had to bite down on them several times. He never said about any further devices so sounds as if I'll be wearing something else down the line...wondering what it is...
There are other reasons why orthos but bands too. Do you have a lot of restoration work on any of these teeth? I have a porcelain fillings in 2 molars. My ortho said that porcelain is more likely to crack or get damaged with braces so she put bands on these teeth as well. Also, sometimes a bracket won't stick very well to a heavily restored tooth.
Yeah I have quite deep fillings on them molars so maybe that's why he had to put the bands on. I'm nearly at the 6 months mark and it really has flew in. How long is your treatment plan Ciara?
Harmony wrote:Yeah I have quite deep fillings on them molars so maybe that's why he had to put the bands on. I'm nearly at the 6 months mark and it really has flew in. How long is your treatment plan Ciara?
3 years - followed by retainers for the rest of my life!!!! Still a bit freaked out but the idea of retainers but I imagine that I will only have to wear them at night after the first few months.
Ciara wrote:
There are other reasons why orthos but bands too. Do you have a lot of restoration work on any of these teeth? I have a porcelain fillings in 2 molars. My ortho said that porcelain is more likely to crack or get damaged with braces so she put bands on these teeth as well. Also, sometimes a bracket won't stick very well to a heavily restored tooth.
Yes, porcelain restorations are a lot more likely to crack, but this is not exclusive to when you are wearing braces. I'm a dental assistant, and I get silver fillings for cavities in my molars and premolars. A lot less problems with them in the long run. Braces without molar bands on teeth with large composite or poreclain fillings can be quite a gamble. I do not work with an orthodontist, but I've seen plenty of cracked teeth with white fillings in people with braces.
