Metal Mouth Message Board

On Monday night, I started the next chapter of my orthodontic lifestyle. I got rubberbands put in. Let me just say one word and one word only... OUCH! I had no idea the pressure these things cause. I sometimes forget and try to yawn only to be reminded that my mouth can only open so far. I was told to leave them in a minimum of 17 hours, but i've been leaving them in for about 22 hours of the day. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

My ortho. office isn't at all informative or friendly, so I have no idea what these things will do. I can feel my jaw aching, and I have a class 3 maloclousion (sp?) and an open bite, so will this help close the bite? Also, in two weeks I go back for them to put bands on. What do they do? Help me out, I'm clueless!

I feel for you. Wearing elastics is definitely not fun, but they can make a lot of progress.

The next time you see your ortho definitely ask questions! They aren't going to always spell everything out for you, and you need to be informed about what's going on with your treatment. The more you know the more you can be aware if there's a problem or something doesn't seem right. You're the one in charge of your teeth and you have to work with the ortho to make sure you get the best result possible. I know they may seem unhelpful, but if you take the initiative to ask questions, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to take the time and explain things to you.

Hope things go well for you

I feel your pain, I have them on at the moment too. I don't think the pain has gone away since I've had them (its been 2 weeks) and it's driving me mad. But I just keep telling myself this is speeding things along.

I don't ever take them off though, only replace every day. Sometimes when the pain gets to much I unhook them and it's like instant relief haha.


Ouchh

I'm sorry you're in pain, too! I keep trying to tell myself it'll get better, but it hasn't. My jaw is SO sore, I can't eat solid foods..I've been on the jello/rice/bean diet for almost a week now.

Im getting an earache in my left ear from the pressure and shooting pains every now and then when I move my mouth a certain way. Is this normal? I called the ortho. on Friday to ask some questions, but they've been closed since Friday. I'm so tired of this already!

I had elastics from day dot and im sooo glad I did! I got used to the whole lot at once so my elastics never bothered me. I wore them for about 23 hours a day so I only had to wear them for 3 months instead of the 6 my ortho expected They are annoying but they work so well, I had a 6mm overjet and it was fixed in 3 months!

I wear my elastics 24/7. My ortho mentioned taking them out while eating but said I would get used to them faster if I just left them in so I did. I change them out everytime I brush my teeth. Yes, they do hurt at first but you will get used to them and all the changes you see will make it all worth while!!

Of all the things that hurt I have not felt alot of pain with rubber bands. I have four different sets of configurations going on now. I think they just grow on you.

yep they suck but they do help the process

I'm a month into my elastics now. Can't lie...they HURT starting out. My ortho said 22 hours a day and take them out when eating (but if I snack a lot just keep them in). I only take them out to brush my teeth. It took about 2 weeks to eat ANYTHING that required chewing. Now I'm okay. I have bad days particularly with the molars they're hinged on but it's nothing horrible anymore.

However, those first days were sheer torture. My jaw doesn't bother me much for the time being but I notice it pops more and sometimes when I open my mouth to eat it feels harder to do so.

I too have a class III. How long will your treatment be? My ortho says if all goes well 24-30 months. Oy!

I have three elastics in my mouth now. Yes, they hurt, but then the pain goes away...until the next adjustment when they change the configuration, add new elastics or just give you a new bag of stronger elastics! then you're back to the starting point... However, wearing them religiously does help a lot not only with the movement (taking them out often will produce a painful 'yo-yo' movement on your teeth) bu also with the pain! I learned that by myself, I wish I had listened the advice before...

I got rubber bands this morning to pull my bottom jaw forward.
They don't feel good at all!
I took them out to eat and it took me 20 minutes to stick them back on! I think I will just learn to eat with them in from now on.
Is there a trick to hooking them on quickly that I need to know? They are so tiny and fidgety!

I got my braces on and rubber bands yesterday.

One rubber band I have to wear all day every day. The second rubber band I have to wear for 12 hrs/day. They don't really hurt...although it's only been a day.

I believe my 24 hrs/day rubber band is to help fix the crossbite on my right side. I'm not sure what the left rubber band (12 hrs) is for.

I wish I could help you more but I'm very new at all of this.

I was given an elastic to correct my upper midline at my last adjustment on 30 July. A hook was placed by my UL3 and the elastic runs from there down to my LL6. I have to wear it all the time, I can feel the difference when I change it and if I open my mouth too wide. I have felt some pain around my nose & some soreness if I do a lot of talking.

One time I found it seemed to be pulling a lot more & was quite painful. When I took the elastic off I found there were two, so now I check extra carefully to make sure I am only picking out one at a time - they are fiddly little things!

I've just joined the elastic club as well. I've had them in 4 nights now and have no problem - feeling the difference already! Very weird when he first put them in though! I was mightily relieved when he said only wear them at night. Is there anything to gain from wearing longer than advised e.g. when I'm staying at home, or should I stick to his instructions?