Elastic bands following surgery

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#1 Post by **superflyguy** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:43 am

Why do you have to wear elastic bands after oral surgery

On my day of discharge a doctor came and said I have to wear bands, stuck a couple in my mouth and told me where they should go. What I forgot to ask was why I had to wear them, are they a necessary part of the healing process??

My problem is this, I've stopped wearing them.........

In the position he placed them it was only around 24hrs after I began to have problems. They made my jaw and teeth ache and gave me more discomfort than the original surgery.

They seemed to apply a force that put my jaw in an unnatural angle, stopping what I thought was a really good alignment. I've tried a couple of different positions all ending up with the same problem. Pain and weird position.

I've now given up on them, I don't see my Surgeon until next Tuesday so I'm hoping that he wont shout at me too much.

Cheers for any advice.

Andrew

#2 Post by **lfwood** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:16 am

Yes they hurt, but I would be listening and doing what your surgeon is telling you. Your surgeon is the one that reads and compares your x-rays and knows where your jaws should be sitting regardless of where your teeth are.

I had to wear mine 24/7 for the first week and then the second week only at night time. When I had my 2 week check up my surgeon said that my jaw was 'floating' (which didn't sound good to me) and I had to wear them again 24/7 for another 2 weeks. I then got to wean off them by wearing them 30 mins less each day for 2 weeks.

It hurt like hell and my bite did seem to be in the wrong place. BUT, after going back to my ortho that has been fixed pretty quickly and things are looking heaps better now.

PUT THEM BACK ON NOW!!! You don't want your jaw bones to regrow in the wrong position or you will be having surgery again.

#3 Post by **superflyguy** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:18 am

Bands are back on and I've doubled them up like they asked.........

Half an hour and the pain/discomfort is already beginning.....

NOOOOOOO.......

lol

At least I realise how important they are now.

Cheers for the reply

Andrew

#4 Post by **jdon** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 5:27 am

I think they help to stabilize your jaw so that your bone can heal, and also for your jaw muscles to form a muscle memory for the correct bite.

I didn't wear elastics until about 2 weeks after surgery (I was supposed to but couldn't due to complications) but I don't think it was a problem. When I did put them on they seemed to shift my bite for the worse so I made an appointment to have the surgeon look at it. He also told me I could adjust it myself, and that it was a continual process of getting the bite closer and closer to ideal. And yeah, doubling up the heavy elastics was painful

#5 Post by **revelvia** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:23 pm

Does anyone happen to have any pictures of themselves in the bands? I'm a little wary of this, being a teacher I don't want to horrify the students or not actually be able to speak to them!

#6 Post by **Hadoudi** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:41 pm

were you given extra elastics? i wasn't and mine are still on, however i've been able to open my mouth a few inches already (1 week post-op) and my elastics are now stretched and useless.

#7 Post by **lfwood** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:01 pm

Does anyone happen to have any pictures of themselves in the bands? I'm a little wary of this, being a teacher I don't want to horrify the students or not actually be able to speak to them!

- Everyone has to wear their elastics differently depending on their surgery. I only had to wear 3 - one in the middle and two on the sides. It wasn't so bad.

were you given extra elastics? i wasn't and mine are still on, however i've been able to open my mouth a few inches already (1 week post-op) and my elastics are now stretched and useless.

I was given a bag of elastics and was told to change them daily. I was also given a special pair of pliers to put them on and off. It was recommended that I take them off to eat and do my exercises. I was told that it puts too much pressure on the plates to try and open your mouth with them on.

I guess it is like having a broken arm or leg really. Sometimes they have to wait for the swelling to go down before they put plaster on a limb. And then putting the plaster puts the bone in the best position and stops the bone from moving while it heals. Very similar to our jaws.

OP - I am glad that you have put them back on.

It will be all worth it in the end.

#8 Post by **bitewonder** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:44 am

superflyguy wrote:Why do you have to wear elastic bands after oral surgery

On my day of discharge a doctor came and said I have to wear bands, stuck a couple in my mouth and told me where they should go. What I forgot to ask was why I had to wear them, are they a necessary part of the healing process??

My problem is this, I've stopped wearing them.........

In the position he placed them it was only around 24hrs after I began to have problems. They made my jaw and teeth ache and gave me more discomfort than the original surgery.

They seemed to apply a force that put my jaw in an unnatural angle, stopping what I thought was a really good alignment. I've tried a couple of different positions all ending up with the same problem. Pain and weird position.

I've now given up on them, I don't see my Surgeon until next Tuesday so I'm hoping that he wont shout at me too much.

Cheers for any advice.

Andrew

I just completed my surgery 2 days ago. And I got rubber bands as well. it helps to stabilize my jaw. I dont take them out. I can open my mouth a little to it and talking is a bit difficult I also wear a splint on my upper teeth. But so far so good. just the swelling is left. i look like a chipmunk

. I also take pain killers and antibiotics every 6 hours. I see the surgeon this Friday so I will know more.

#9 Post by **revolutionary** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:07 pm

bitewonder, i'm in the same position! i had my surgery on the 18th. we should keep each other posted for sure, how are you doing now?

i had my first bands adjustment monday... it was really painful as the doctor took them off/put new ones on, i could feel my jaw shifting and sliding around as they pulled them into new positions. do i really have to do this 3-4 more times?!

#10 Post by **bitewonder** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:42 am

Hi rev,
well the swelling has gone down substantially but it is till there. Perhaps 2 more weeks it will be non existent. I still wear rubber bands and a split, last time I saw the surgeon he told me I need to wear the splints and elastics for about a month so my muscles will get use to the new jaw position. wonder bite

#11 Post by **Hadoudi** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:17 am

so I saw my OS today ( 2weeks post-op ) and he loved the bite position and my healing progress so much that he removed my elastics!!

he also upgraded me to soft foods, thank god because I've gotten so sick of soups and ensure. I also lost 15 pounds, and looked sort of frail.

I just had mashed potatoes and gravy, hmmmmmmm

Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:49 pm

elastics are super important espically in the early weeks of surgery. They basiscally help to stabalize everything and keep everything still in one place. Glad you put the elastics back on!

#13 Post by **Brianspear42** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 8:50 am

So I had to jaw ( LeFort 1 max) surgery July 2nd. On today 4th of July I got too excited eating grits and one side of my elastic bands broke. I called my doc and they recommended to take the other side off to even everything out. I’m not sure of the damage I’ve caused from this but I hope I didn’t ruin an amazing outcome of the surgery.

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