Metal Mouth Message Board

I was just wondering what kind of problems you would have to have to have to wear elastics?(what a mouth full!!)

I wasnt quite sure what they were, i mainly want to know just to see if they are in my future or not.

I've only ever heard of people saying that they just got elastics, and not why they got the elastics, and i did a search and didnt find anything, so thanks to everybody that replies!!!

Right now I have elastics to correct my midline but I'll also wear them in a different configuration to correct my overbite. There are lots of different reasons for them as I'm sure more people will post as to why they have theirs. Good luck!

Amy
Damon2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

wow, thanks adollface, that was a really quick and speedy reply!! I have an off midline too, but right now its only off by a bout a half a tooth.

Elastics can be used for many many different reasons.You don't necessarily have to have a 'problem' to have them, for most people they get them at the end of treatment just to close everything up and tighten it all up, to reduce any overbite that was created from the braces and also to fix midlines.

Eve

Elastics can be used to fix bite problems, midlines, and other small problems. I know I will be getting them at some point in my treatment and hopefully it will be soon! Like to get things going!

-Hannah




Top braces: 4/28/04
Bottom braces: 11/16/05
Next Adjustment 1/11/06

thanks hannah, i like to get things going too. I hope that i get something "new" at my next appointment, like a powerchain or something, maybe elastics, but probably not this early. Just wanted to say that i'm watching "The Ghost Whisperer" and it is sooo good tonight LoLz!!

When I asked my ortho if I would be getting elastics, he replied, "Everyone gets elastics." He didn't say what they would be for, but I will ask when the time comes.

I got elastics early on and never lost them. I think they came around the third or fourth adjustment. Always to fix my class II overjet on the left side only. I did have a different configuration once but only for a month. I'm not sure what it was for though.

Shelby, It looks like you and I got our braces almost the same time. I just got elastics today.....and I can say this....don't be too eager. Whew, I'm in a world of hurt tonight. (You were right about Ghost Whisperer, I thought it was a good one too!).

I got my elastics because all of a sudden last week my back teeth on the left side don't come together. So he put elastics on that side to help pull the top teeth down and the bottoms up. So I guess you can say its to correct a bite problem. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of them.

I've also seen people get them to fix 'twisted' teeth that are kind of stubborn.

yup, well i have a very high pain tolerance, i havent felt an ounce of pain since i got my braces, other then the ulcers. My bite is so bad, that its making me get headaches, and my jaw is achey because it doesnt have any where to sit, so my jaw hurts really bad I got in for my third adjustment on Wed, the thing i really want is a powerchain to close my gaps on the bottom, they are really big(i have three of them). I guess i just want something new and exciting, not just a new wires and ligs. Makes me feel better when i am progressing fast, i like to get my teeth moving!!
Thanks Way Too Old For This!

I forgot to ask, if you have to have triangle elastic configurations, would they have to add another bracket with a little peg on it or not? Only my canines have pegs on them(other then my molar bands they have great hooks on them!!!
Thanks for replying everbody!!!:D

you're probably right Karen, my teeth have moved so much, they dont even look like me teeth anymore. I guess i am just so ready already to get them off, then to wait and realize that i still have 10-12 more months in these things. I'm sure you understand, all of my friends that have braces have had them forever, so they are in the final stages of treatment, and i guess that i'm a little jealous.

are elastics used to fix a crossbite as well, because i have developed a rather bad one. I was just flossing and i shut my mouth and realized that most of the teeth on the right side dont touch Just wondering, well thanks everyone!!

Shelby, that is kind of what happened to me. I was driving home from work the other day and when I closed my mouth one side didn't touch at all. So I told my ortho and that's why he put the elastic on that side. And it is a triangular configuration because I am missing a tooth. I think if you will need elastics they will probably have to change the bracket to add one with a hook ( or a little prong that sticks up or down). He changed two of my brackets Friday, and that was no big deal either.

I am lucky (sort of) because I go every two weeks to have my impacted canine retied. So if I have any little problems I can tell them at that time. My daughter had her braces put on in mid-November and tomorrow will be her first visit back.

I know what you mean about keeping things moving. I like to see progress too, but too fast is not a good thing. We don't want to ruin our roots and have our teeth all fall out after all this work !

My elastics are in triangle configurations and I didn't have to have brackets changed I have posts on my archewires to hook onto. I think it just depends on what you already have going on in treatment.

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04