My orthodontist told me I must wear rubber bands, but why? Braces are not only meant to straighten your teeth, but also perfect your bite. Malocclusion occurs when your teeth do not perfectly align. This can lead you to have a bad bite. A person suffering from malocclusion might have a crowding issue, protruding teeth or plain ole’ crooked teeth. Malocclusion could potentially lead to issues with your gums or periodontal disease. Periodontal disease can affect the structure around your teeth. The disease starts with the gum and moves on to the cementum that covers the root, the periodontal ligament and the alveolar bone. These are all things that can be avoided.
FIX ME!
In an effort to fix malocclusion or align your midlines, orthodontists will recommend the use of rubber bands. There are two types of rubber bands. Those that move their teeth in a forward and backward position & those that moves up and down.
Class 1- Class one malocclusion is the most common type of malocclusion. The upper jaw is slightly over laps the lower jaw.
Class 2- Class two is also called retrognathism (overbite) similar to class one but a bit more severe. Upper teeth move forward while lower teeth tip back
Class 3- Class thee bite occur when the lower jaw protrudes and overlaps the upper jaw.
Triangle/Box Elastics– These elastics brings lower teeth forward and all teeth together at the same time.
We Cannot Stress enough how important it is to wear rubber bands for at least a minimum of 18 hours a day. We typically instruct patients to keep elastics in their mouth at all times except for when they are eating or brushing. They are to especially keep them in while sleeping!
