How Long Do You Wear Elastics For Braces In Colorado Springs?
Patients aren’t always clued in about elastics before they start braces treatment, but then they become a pretty big part of their daily routine, a reality they need to get used to. It’s completely normal to want to know more about braces treatment if someone’s just told you that you need to wear them, or if you just want to get a solid understanding of what’s involved. We’d like to give you a straight answer to your question about how long you should be wearing elastics for braces in Colorado Springs. This will give you a better idea of what to expect. Orthodontics for adults offers discreet and effective solutions to straighten teeth and improve oral health at any stage of life.
Elastics, also known as rubber bands, are these little loops that stretch and hook onto certain brackets on the upper and lower teeth. They put extra pressure on the upper and lower jaw, which is something that brackets and wire alone can’t always do on their own. Elastics are pretty crucial in getting a good-looking and functioning end result, because they can fix overbites, underbites and crossbites, some of the most common problems you’ll come across. Traditional and clear braces provide reliable, time-tested solutions for correcting alignment issues while offering options to match your lifestyle.
The honest truth about how long you should wear elastics is that it depends on the patient and how bad their biting problem is. It also depends on how well the jaw responds to the pressure being applied. Some people need to wear them for a few months, while others need them for a year or more, and it’s all on a case-by-case basis. We keep a close eye on each patient’s progress throughout treatment at Inner Smiles Orthodontics and adjust the plan as needed, based on how things go.
It’s just as important to know how many hours a day you need to wear elastics as it is to know how long you need to wear them overall. Most people should be wearing them 20 to 22 hours a day. You take them out to eat and brush and floss, then put in a new set right after each of those things. The pressure they put on builds up over time, and taking them out for extended periods really slows down progress a lot.
Probably the most important thing a patient can do to help their treatment be a success is to stick with wearing their elastics. We always level with our patients about this at Inner Smiles Orthodontics because the truth is it really does make a difference in how long treatment takes and how great the end result turns out. People who wear their elastics as directed usually see their bite get better on schedule. People who don’t, on the other hand, often find that treatment takes longer than expected and their bite doesn’t improve the way it’s supposed to.
It’s also pretty common for elastics to feel a little uncomfortable at first, especially on the first day or two as your jaw gets used to the extra pressure. This usually gets easier pretty quickly, and most people say that the sensation becomes way more manageable as you get used to it. Following the instructions to change to a new set of elastics every day helps keep the right amount of tension going and keeps things on track.
Our team here in Colorado Springs takes the time to explain to each patient exactly how to put in and take out their elastics. We also make sure that the whole process is easy and comfortable for everyone before they leave the office. If you have any questions about elastics or any other part of braces treatment we’d be happy to chat with you about it during a consultation.