Just about every patient that has had braces has been required to wear rubber bands during their treatment at one point or another. This is probably one of the hardest things for our patients to get in the habit of doing. The fact is, the rubber bands move your teeth in a way that the braces cant. They help us to achieve your final bite positions, which are extremely important for long term stability and function.
We know they are uncomfortable and make your teeth and jaws hurt. But if you wear them through the first couple of days of initial soreness, that feeling will subside. You can take Tylenol or Motrin during those days to help with the discomfort.
Most of our patients that don’t like the rubber bands don’t really like the braces either. But the more you avoid wearing the rubber bands, the longer your braces will stay on.
Ok, now a small biology lesson for you! It takes 10 hours of CONSTANT rubber band wear for your body to begin the process of moving the teeth. Can you believe it? 10 hours? Just to START that process! No wonder they are sore! You can “fool” your teeth for about 20 minutes once you have removed the rubber bands. After that, your teeth will start moving back where they were. For example: If you wear your rubber bands EVERYDAY ALL DAY for TWO WHOLE WEEKS, then you leave them off for a full 24 hours, your teeth are right back where you started. You lost the whole 2 weeks! Now that doesn’t make anyone happy! Especially you! You put in all that time wearing them and now you have to start all over.
Two of the best things that you can do for yourself while you are in braces: 1. Do everything they tell you to do, such as wearing your elastics, turning the key on your expander and wearing headgear the required number of hours. 2. Keep everything SUPER clean!! When the teeth are not clean, the mouth is not healthy and it can cause the teeth not to respond as well. Regular checkups with your dentist will help with this too. Doing these things will help ensure that you will get braces off on time!
If you have any questions, please call the office at (804) 737-6757.
