Metal Mouth Message Board

I wonder if everybody that has braces have to wear elastic? I just started wearing elastic to align my upper and lower teeth and my ortho wants me to wear it 24/7 but I was thinking of just wearing it at home after I get off work...has anybody done this and is there a big difference if I wear it the whole day?

I would wear them for the prescribed amount of time. I've read that one of the main reasons for treatment taking longer than estimated was because patients don't wear their elastics as instructed. I thought I would never learn to talk with them in but you get used to them. I got so used to them that I kept forgetting to take them out when I ate, and they would pop. ouch.

Hi,

Linda is so right. You should wear them like your ortho told you. If you
wear them let's say only 12 hours, then you get correction for 12 hours,
and loose that correction the other 12 hours. So you achieve nothing. The
only thing that happens is that your teeth wiggle around. Not only do you
not get the results your ortho is trying to achieve, it is even bad for your
teeth. So, try to wear them 24/7. I wear elastics for more than 16
months now non-stop, so I have a bit of experience. So believe me when
I say that after some time you won't even know they are there. And people
don't notice them too.
Good luck !

I'd definitely be wearing them 24/7. I do with mine, even to eat (which most people don't seem to do)...
After a little while you don't even notice they are there.
I found when I first got them that even after I took them off to brush, my teeth would hurt for a bit when they were replaced. If you are only wearing them after work then I imagine this could also be painful!

I have elastics at the moment to help close my extraction gaps and i wear them 24/7 except when brushing. Although when i was first given them i used to take them out for a 30 minute break as the pain for the first few days was quite bad.

You need to wear them all the time otherwise your teeth will just move back in the time when your not wearing them.

I was told to wear mine 24/7, except when eating or brushing. I can't even imagine wearing them while eating, because I can hardly open my mouth wide enough to put anything in there when I'm wearing them!

Echo wrote:I was told to wear mine 24/7, except when eating or brushing. I can't even imagine wearing them while eating, because I can hardly open my mouth wide enough to put anything in there when I'm wearing them!

LOL - yeah i guess that could become a problem!
With mine I can open my mouth up. They feel tight when I first put them in but that disappears pretty quick.. I suppose it would also depend on the configuration. I just have from my 3rd tooth (including the front one) on each side down to my very back tooth. So pretty standard it seems.

Thanks for all the replies. Well, I wore my elastics at work today and some of my co-workers were laughing at me because the elatics in my mouth looks like a saliva going up and down when I tallk. do you guys have the same problem?

That sounds like a highly immature response from colleagues!
They should be happy for you that you've chosen to improve your teeth/bite.
I've never had any comments about my elastics. I think mine are barely noticeable.
You may also be able to get coloured ones though (if that's something you would be comfortable with). I have that option..
That way there would be no mistaking the elastics for saliva.
Just ignore your co-workers though and keep thinking of your end goal

Yeah you guys are right my co-workers are very immature. kirst1 what color are your elastics? I’m planning on getting the colored ones but I don’t want to get the wrong color that’s going to make me look ridiculous.

My only options with colours are a mixed pack. They are all neon (so very obvious). There's pink, orange, green and purple.
Ask your ortho though. He/she might use a different brand with better options!
Whatever you do though, don't let your co-workers dictate your treatment. The more you wear the elastics the faster you'll be done. And you really wont even notice them soon!