Elastics make me self conscious!

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#1 Post by **colorpurple** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:30 pm

So I've been in braces (ceramic) since late Sept and have been wearing triangular elastics. I only where them when I'm not in class. So I wear them for about 16 hours a day, and depending on the day maybe only 10 hrs. I told my ortho.

He doesn't seem to realize how repulsive they look when I talk -- they look like fangs and I just can't bear to wear them around most ppl (roomates and close friends I dont mind).

Do any of you have vertical elastics that show anteriorly? Do you wear them in public?

#2 Post by **Audra** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:16 pm

I have class II elastics, and yes, they show anteriorly.

I view them as a means to an end. The ortho prescribed them for a reason and I was told to wear them 24 hours a day - so I do. I've been wearing them since March, by the way. I got them just before we took a trip to Mexico. It was a colossal pain carrying them around with me everywhere - but I did.

If you are only going to wear them 10-16 hours a day, you will be in braces a lot longer than you want to be. Wear them as prescribed and get it over with. People don't really notice them as much as you think they do. And even if they do, who cares? People pick up on your attitude towards them more than the actual look of the braces themselves.

#3 Post by **TigerLily** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:18 pm

I feel your paind - all this talk about metals or ceramics hardly seems to matter when elastics can make you look like a vampire...:-_

Stick with it though, it does get better...I promise.

#4 Post by **CactusZAF** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 9:15 pm

I had a triangular configuration from the inside lower first premolar to the top outside of my canine and first premolar on both sides for two months. I wore them 24/7 other than to take them out when cleaning my teeth. The biggest challenge was not to let them shoot out of my mouth when they snapped.

Then the month before I got my braces off, I had to wear an elastic from inside my upper first molar to outside my upper first molar as well as a class II elastic from lower first molar to between my upper lateral and canine on the left side, and a midline elastic (definitely the most obvious of any configuration) from my lower left lateral to just behind my upper right canine. I wore all these all the time except to eat and brush teeth.

I did this all while running a construction business, dealing with suppliers and potential as well as current clients, and all my staff. Bottom line is nobody else cares about how your elastics look, and if they've got an issue with it, it's their issue to deal with. The less you wear your elastics, the longer you're gonna have to wear them.

#5 Post by **changes09** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 4:36 am

I have been wearing elastics since april/may. And about three months ago I got one long rubber band I wear from molar to canine, on both sides. They are bringing my bite together. My molars don't touch. So this is very painful, and its hard to talk, I spit when I talk, and get food stuck in them, then turn colors when I eat red sauce. It's a mess! But my doc said if I wear them the way I am suppose to (24/7) braces will be off in Jan. If I don't....I'm looking at March. That's adding two more months! So, don't worry what others think just do it. And most people show sympathy. They have been there.

#6 Post by **sdawdy** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:15 pm

I just stopped wearing (on the advice of my ortho) an elastic that went from my right upper central incisor to my lower left canine. This was to fix my mid-line. At one point my husband looked at me and said it looks like you have snot in your mouth. Another person looked at me after one of my presentations for school and said that rubber band you have in your mouth was very distracting. So yes they can be a pain in the @$$ and embarrassing. But you know what? We are told to wear them for a reason.....to fix your bite. You have the choice to wear it as much or as little as you want (based off of what the ortho has advised). But if you do what they say and get over the fact that it is embarrassing then you will move past that stage sooner and it will be over quicker.

#7 Post by **mwic1985** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:50 pm

For me it's not just how they look, it's just the nuisance of having to take bands out to eat, and then put them back in. Very annoying when going out for the evening.

#8 Post by **Bekah** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:49 am

I have been in elastics for several months. I was looking for a job for 2 months of that!

I told the orthodontist that I would not wear them to job interviews and that when my husband came home from deployment that I would not wear them to the airport. He said that was fine!

The funny part is that I completely forgot I had them in and wore them to every interview anyway! I only kept them out a few hours the day my husband came home.

I have had a couple of people ask about them but for the most part no one really cared!