Headgear: Your experiences with headgear...

[InHeadgear]

Hi,

I've been in headgear now for 3 months, and have to wear mine
16 hours every day, which means I must wear it outdoors and
to school. Since this headgear is now a part of me, and I
have to deal with it so much now, I've become curious about
others who have gone through this experience. So I have a
few questions (below) about the headgear experience...

As a headgear wearer (I wear combination headgear, 16 hours every day)
I am very curious as to how many other ortho patients share my plight...

Thanks!
InHeadgear


1) What type of headgear did/do you wear? (Cervical, high-pull,
combination, reverse-pull, other)?

2) How many hours per day were you instructed to wear your
headgear? How close did you come to complying with this
wear time, and for how many months total do you need to
wear headgear?

3) When you first got your headgear, what was your reaction
(horror, fear, neutral, content, happy, etc.)?

4) What type of reactions have you received from others
(friends, family members, strangers, etc.) when they
first saw you wearing your headgear?

5) Have you ever worn your headgear out in public?
If so, where have you worn it (school, work, movies,
shopping, etc.)? If you have you worn your headgear
out in public, how often have you done so (only a few
times, several hours per week, almost every day, etc.)?

6) Any other comments/observations you have about wearing
headgear would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the answers!
--InHeadgear

[EDWARD]

I VE BEEN IN MY HEADGEAR FOR ALMOST 9 WEEKS. I WEAR A CERVICAL
HEADGEAR AND A MOUTH FULL OF METAL. I HAVE METAL BRACKETS ON MY UPPER AND LOWER TEETH AND I WEAR 2 RUBBERBANDS ON EACH SIDE.
I HAVE TO WEAR MY HEADGEAR FOR 16 / 17 HRS A DAY. I AM 41 YRS OLD SO I WEAR IT TO WORK AND OUT IN PUBLIC. I HAVE RECIEVED MANY LOOKS AND HAD PLENTY ON CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE ABOUT ORTH. I THINK PEOPLE LOOK AT ME DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE
HARDWEAR. I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO WEAR IT BUT I DO . LET ME KNOW IF THIS HELPS YOU.

[sharrsharrsheesheiya]

Wow 'InHeadgear' this is so similar to my life , I'm now 17 and in Sixth Form wearing Combination Headgear virtually 24/7, at least 23 hours every day. I first got this headgear over 2 years ago after the elastic bands only made minimal movement for my big overbite but to begin with my ortho asked for 16 hours every day average, so I didn't wear it outside the house but that proved very hard cos although I was without it at school I had no time left besides so it felt like prison. A few friends came and saw me in it at home and so people at school knew it existed, then after about 3 months my ortho was disappointed in progres--seems my teeth are specially stubborn ! I asked what more I could do and he explained the more hours I wore in 24 the less chance for the teeth to resist moving, so I decided by myself that the best thing for me was to go to school in it and so let evetyone see it and then just wear it outside the house as well as home. It was a hugely nervous day but I got through it and have worn my headgear virtually all the time since. Two things really help keep me going--my boyfriend, who started dating AFTER I was in the hg fulltime, is great and encourages me with lovely words and clever helpful tricks to ease life, so I feel happy in it as long as he is so supportive; also my orthodontist praises me so much and gets other patients to talk things over with me, so I guess I'm treated like a 'model-patient' and that feels nice. I'm rewarded by positive progress reports and I find I am uncomfortable if I leave my hg off for any length of time , like when a wire came loose in my mouth once and when the strap once came apart. I'm in my third year now, but I'll probably be done with the headgear by this time next year--hopefully. Well, I hope this helped

[Clo]

Hi,

even last week, I did not expect to have headgear now. Although I saw it
coming, as all my elastic configurations I had were not able to correct my
open bite and overjet. So, since yesterday, I have a cervical headgear.
I need to wear it full time. As a complete newbie here, I only had it a day,
I can tell I did what was asked. I indeed wore it full time. About 23 of the
last 24 hours. My intention is to continue to do so, because the alternative
for me is surgery. And I want to avoid that ! I am certainly not ready to
wear it in public, but I fear I will have no choice. As I have a home office,
I can wear it a lot without people seeing it. I will see next month if I do
wear it enough ...