What do you mean rubber bands? Will I need them? When will I need them? How often do I wear them? Why do I wear them in different directions? These are great questions that we hear everyday here at Varghese Orthodontics!
There are many different corrections that Dr. Varghese can achieve with brackets and wires, but some of the movement of teeth can only be done with the help of rubber band wear. This is where YOU, as the patient, play a role as to when you get your braces off. Orthodontics is not just about straightening teeth, it’s also about the function of your bite. A good bite allows for a more stable result and allows the reduction of wear on your teeth later in life.
Every patient does not necessarily need to wear elastics to correct their bite. Some of our patients may need to wear rubber bands the day they get their braces on, while others may be told to wear elastics later on in their treatment. The direction of elastics wear will be dependent upon the type of movement needed. Dr. Varghese will show you the direction and go over the duration of the wear needed.
There is definitely a reason for wearing your rubber bands full time! Think of it as pushing a car up a hill. As long as you push, progress is being made, but when you stop pushing, the car moves back downhill and the progress is lost. If our patients are not faithful with their elastic wear, it will keep their teeth sore because the body does not know if it should allow the teeth to move or to just keep them in place.
As mentioned earlier, rubber bands are one the things that YOU can do to control how quickly your treatment moves along. When it’s time to wear your elastics, our assistants will draw on a diagram of how to wear them, how long to wear them, and also the type of rubber band you need to wear. LET’S GET THINGS MOVING, WHAT DO YOU SAY?
