Metal Mouth Message Board

I just had my 4th adjustment today and nearing the 4 month mark since I got braces and I got elastics (rubber bands) today, they suck, it's sore and painful. I have to wear them in a triangle to fix my open bite. She suggested I wear them whenever possible this is my third set of the day, she put them on for me at the office during my tightening and I took them off to eat, then put another pair, took that pair off when I got home, ate again and put on a new pair. So I'll end up with my 4th pair on before I go to bed.

What are/were your experience with elastics (rubber bands) and does anyone change theirs often and is it normal to do so? I feel weird changing them so often, mostly because I just put them on after I eat.

Hey phu--I have had elastics since day one...I have them on all the time except to eat or brush. My teeth have moved "alarmingly fast" according to the ortho...

I brush my teeth right after I eat (so no more eating on the run!) and I immediately put on the new set of elastics.
I would say 4 sets a day is about right. It's a wasted effort if you miss chunks of time with your elastics out. You lose what you have gained.....

Yes, elastics are a total pain in the butt!! But the soreness goes away after about a week, and then they are just a totally annoying braces maintenance thing...

Hope that helps!

Thank you for the reply!

Was it a good thing when your ortho said they moved "alarmingly fast"?

I eat on lunch on campus for only 2 days so I always have to carry toothpicks with me and usually rinse my mouth out with water since I don't really know where to brush my teeth at school.

Ya, just get those elastics in--if you can't brush, then get a small container of mouthwash and rinse with that if you are able.

"Alarmingly fast"--"Faster than any other adult he's ever treated..."----I don't think it was a bad thing--he backed off somewhat on the adjustment before this last one--then he put the metal to the pedal again with double heavy elastics on one side, and one heavy elastic on the other side, along with stainless steel archwires top and bottom on this last adjustment. I got out of the Forsus appliance because my teeth have moved so fast. And now he says he has plenty of time to do the things he wants to do--whatever that means...I prefer to be kept in the dark from now on....

I put on a pair of new elastics overnight while I slept and my open bite has changed so much. There's still an open bite but it's a lot smaller than before and I was so surprised when I looked in the mirror.

I just googled what the Forsus appliance was and it looks painful and a real hassle to take care of!

When I went for the adjustment yesterday she added some wires to create a hook so I could put the rubber bands on as a triangle. Not sure what the technical term is but it's a small hook that is on both sides of my mouth.


Before


After

I have had the exact same elastics configuration that you have. They really do their magic at night. Sometimes I felt like my jaw was completely wired shut. It will be interesting to see all the equipment we end up with towards the end of our braces treatment. Right now, I only have one triangle on my left side, and the elastic on the other side is from my upper canine to lower back molar.

I also LOOOVE your red ligs and powerchain! They look great on your teeth.

-Cathy

They definitely do! My cousins and I were talking at the ortho office about how each of them wore their elastics and I'm the only one who wears it as the triangle. It's definitely strong and keeping my mouth shut. It gets uncomfortable too at times when you feel the top tooth/teeth pressed against the bottom too.

Thank you! It's my first time with red ligatures and having a powerchain too but rtho only put it on the bottom six front ones to close a gap. I like definitely like the look of powerchains better than single ligatures.