Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm nearing the point in my orthodontic journey (and it has been great so far, thanks for all the support, guys!) where I get to think about rubber bands. I've heard some good things (like they shorten your imprisonment by at least a month if you wear them like you're supposed to) and some bad things.

I just want a general consensus on them. I imagine since they're elastic, that means constant pressure on your teeth, so...constant pain? Does the pain ever go away?

Help me, guys. I'm a bit nervous here. But I suppose I could adapt. If I can adapt to metal and spacers and other foreign objects related to orthodontistry in my mouth...I can probably handle small rubber bands.

Four more months to go!

Whoopsie-daisy. I guess I should've used the search function. I haven't been here for a bit, so I guess the rules slipped my mind. Sorry about that.

But that's good to hear. Finally, those hooks on my braces will be of some use, besides poking me! Haha, thanks for the speedy reply!

I was worried that my jaw was going to lock up from being confined the rubber bands...a couple days later I was eating with them and trying to brush with them! First week/month of braces was worse for me.

When I had braces the first time 30 years ago, I remember the more I wore them, the less they hurt. I will be going back into them within a few months I am told. We shall see. Good luck Lori

Elastics very rarely cause any discomfort at all, and I certainly don't have any problems with them. The only thing that I do find annoying is that occasionally my lip gets caught in the elastic where it hooks round the brace, and it feels really weird when it does.

Some people do have an allergy to latex (which the elastics are made from), but you'll know if you have this allergy within 24 hours of using them. I don't have the allergy but someone I know did and she got an itchy feeling inside her lip where it touched the elastic. When she looked closer, inside lip was red as though there was an ulcer there. All she did was stop using the elastics, phoned the ortho, and he gave her some latex-free ones.

However I agree with the others here; the first week after having your braces fitted must be 10,000x worse than elastics!

Best of luck with them.

I'm gonna sneak in here for my first post. Hello everyone, and thanks for all the help. I've been lurking for a couple months now.

I have a posterior open bite, so rubber bands are a main focus of my treatment, and I don't find them uncomfortable at all. I had braces 15 years ago (I'm 30 now), and just got them on again 10/30 (metal top & bottom), with a 12-18 month treatment plan. Luckily my teeth are in pretty good shape from the first go-round, so there's not much moving to do besides closing the open bite (which is a big-enough task). I do have to wear a tongue gate to combat a bilateral tongue thrust, but it's removable and not all that uncomfortable (when I'm not trying to speak, that is). The goal is to avoid jaw surgery if possible. Regardless, I'll be doing whatever's necessary to fix the problem because my front teeth are starting to wear down from doing all the work, and I'm (hopefully) gonna be needing them for a long time.

Anyway, thanks for indulging me, and the moral of my story is I agree that rubber bands are not that big a deal, and that the more you wear them, the better off you are. And I know what KK is talking about, how it starts to feel weird to NOT have them on. With the reverse open bite, I always had trouble getting my jaw comfortable upon trying to go to sleep, so I don't mind having the elastics sort of hold things in place until I get my new bite. They seem to distribute the pressure more evenly or something.

Hi brace ventura,

As the erstwhile owner of a posterior open bite, I can identify with your situation. Mine was closed with box and triangle elastics. I managed to escape the tongue thingy thankfully.

lionfish, may i ask how long it took to close your bite? i've had vertical elastics on my molars for a month, and i'm pretty sure i can detect some movement (haven't been back to the ortho yet).