Metal Mouth Message Board

I was braced this morning and asked my ortho about why they use molar bands. She says they use molar bands for patients that require headgear for treatment. Also, they tend to use molar bands on the lower arch just to avoid brackets breaking off when chewing food. She mentioned that usually they put them on younger patients because they are not as conscious with chewing or avoiding "no no" foods. I hope that helps!

Thanks, All Smiles! I can definitely understand that reasoning.

My ortho said that I would not need the molar bands because I would not need the additional leverage in my treatment. It may have something to do with additional appliances or gear though as well.

The leverage thing makes sense, my molars rotated a bit whilst my extraction gaps were closed. This month I have not had very much done except for leaving those teeth a bit of room to derotate, which is working. However, I guess if they needed additional leverage on those teeth, there could be more rotation, without the bands and sorting it out might be more difficult and time consuming.

If you were having molar bands, you would certainly want to know there was a reason for it. If it were just ortho preference and not for clinical benefit, I would want to find an ortho with more patient friendly preferences!