adding elastics are like braces^2

[SueAsh5]

Good to get informed on this topic as I´m getting elastics next month. My bite is crazy bad and my ortho wants to do everything possible to make the most out of this experience! My teeth, after only five months, are basically straight , even with a lower front extraction so he is pleased with my progress. I´ve had a bad bite my whole life so any improvement will be worth it.

[smartygirl]

glad to hear the pain goes away after a while. i thought i was going in for impressions pre-debanding today, instead he wants to work on my crossbite just a leetle bit more, so i got elastics and another month (at least, i guess) of braces.

booooo.

[White Fang]

Man, thanks for this post. I just got 2 elastics yesterday (I'm 10 months in) and they are really bugging me and hurting. I don't seem to have the rubbing problem since my uppers are lingual, but they cross over my teeth from outer on lowers to inner on uppers and so I'm biting on rubber all the time PLUS my whole jaw aches. It is to correct my overbite. This is a good reminder to start taking pics again, they are so motivating to see progress.

I read that doubling up on the bands at night can really speed things up. Anyone tried this?

[kbp22]

I just started with elastics last week after 9 months. My ortho only wants me wearing them at night, which did give me pause, after reading some posts here about how they should be worn 24/7 except to eat and if they are not, they are less effective...so I double checked with my ortho, but was told, ONLY at night. So I wake up with my bite almost all closed - yay! My upper and lower incisors actually brush against each other by accident without my having to make a weird face! But by mid afternoon, it feels like it's gone back to how it was, which makes me sad.
I guess I just have to trust that there's a reason I can't wear them all the time. That my bite is improving, slowwwwly and imperceptibly. I wish I could wear them all the time though.
I wouldn't think doubling up would be a good idea though...I imagine the elastics come in different strengths and the strength prescribed is prescribed for a specific reason? Too much force could be harmful?

[nifer237]

Elastics were the worst part of my treatment by far. The braces went on fine, but the elastics...I was not prepared for that pain.

[Capsfan]

I found that they would pull my bands. I have had to have two bands re-cemented on after wearing the rubber bands.

I am so ready to be done with these braces....

[Jano]

hi guys, what do you do to relieve the cheek pain from the elastics rubbing ? You cant put wax on elastics . I am due for elastics soon and after reading these posts am beginning to think its not going to be much fun

[Mauvaise]

I'll say!

I got quite the shock yesterday when I went in for my adjustment when the doc said it was time to start elastics. I was under the impression that I wouldn't get those until my extraction gaps were fully closed, which they are not yet. I've got Class 2, 4oz, 4mm (3/16") going from upper canines to first molar (the one next to where the premolar used to be).

In addition to getting a new (steel) wire on the bottom and fresh power chains the elastics are making me feel more pain than when I first got the braces in. My teeth ache, my jaw aches, and I'm feeling even more claustrophobic (best way I can describe it) than ever.

I just want to curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out.

[Dee17]

When I had my consultation with my orthodontist I asked him if I would have to wear elastics and he said yes. Just didn't give me any kind of timeline. Oh, just one more thing to worry about, I guess.

[Redfern]

I got elastics about 9 months into my treatment. They were from the upper back teeth to lower front teeth to pull some of my upper front teeth forward. Now I still have those, which I wear only at night, plus a lingual button inside one upper back molar (second from the very back) with an elastic to the outside of a lower back premolar. That one is a 24/7 to pull that molar into line with the rest of my teeth. It was way inside the arch, and needed a lot of coaxing to come into line. Now the tooth is wired in (with a tie wire, not into the arch wire yet), too, and the constant pull of the elastics and wire is giving me constant headaches. Advil is my best friend at the moment.

The ortho knew that I was wearing the elastic all the time because my tooth moved a lot in just a month. I really want to get my braces off in the original time frame (20 months total) so I'm doing everything she wants. I have already been to 3 weddings with braces on, and I really want this over with. I'm over 50, and braces really don't fit well with my career.

Moral of the story--wear your elastics, even if they hurt. If they hurt it means they're moving your teeth.

Cheers!

[denSMSgt]

Got mine last week at just under a year in this set of braces, Class II from what I've read up on to tackle overbite/jet. It was triple whammy for me, powerchains top and bottom along with elastics. Still a touch tender, but I think the worst is by me until I get the stronger powerchain they've promised in December!

Smile gang, it gets better! Just be wary of what some claim as a permanent bonded retainer once you're wrapped up with braces off. No bueno, I assure you!

dennis

[starfish88]

I must be odd but I my elastics! They hurt so much the first few days, especially as I got them 4 weeks into braces and my teeth had only just stopped hurting crazily from getting the braces on. Not only did they make my teeth thob with pain, they really pinched as well, but I found mouth ulcer gel took away the pain and inflamation until my cheeks toughened up. Occasionally they will start hurting my cheeks again as my teeth move and the elastics come into contact with non-tough skin!

Despite all this I still love them as my overjet has really changed. It started at 12mm and was down to 10mm within 4 weeks. I have just less than 2 weeks to my next adjustment (10 weeks of elastics so far, 2 different strengths )and having measured myself I have hopes I'll be at 7 or even 6mm! This isn't out of the realm of what others here have experienced but may not be accurate since my measuring method involves biting into a cheese slice, placed against my bottom teeth, using my top teeth to bite and measuring the space!

I'm so excited to find out for sure though at my next adjustment! and I'll get even thicker elastics at my next adjustment and my ortho has promised these come in colours! I feel I missed out since I got SL brackets (my ortho only deals with these) and couldn't get pretty ligs so pretty elastics are the next best thing.