Rubber bands--see how much they worked in 5 weeks

[Candymomof3]

Hi everyone....just wanted to show you what rubber bands can do in a short amount of time! I am almost 7 months into braces, but only been wearing rubber bands for 5 weeks. I wear 2, from my lower back molars to upper canines.
I'll show you my bite first, 5 weeks ago (ugh--this was made much worse as my canines were being brought down and then pushing everything else forward) I am trying to avoid extractions so this is making me very happy!




okay--here they are now





going to put the rest in my blog... I just thought it was so neat!!!

[mariahfromchicago]

Wow! Your bite has improved a lot in such a short amount of time.

[jessi]

Wow! That movement in 5 weeks is incredible! I too am wearing rubber bands right now as they have my forsus springs off in order to facilitate some other movement. I get the springs back on next week but your pics are utterly amazing! I wonder if my teeth have moved that much being in rubber bands for a month plus now. My ortho said they will keep my teeth in alignment while I'm out of the springs so we don't lose that progress. I can't believe how much more in alignment your bite looks...congrats to you girl! Thanks for sharing!

jessi

[easyeasy13]

hey how old are you? i have same bight would bands help me im 20?

[Candymomof3]

thanks so much! It shows so much improvement!--I am in awe of ortho treatment! The first 3 days of bands were horrible, had bad headaches, but I adjusted quickly and the only time they are out of my mouth is when I am brushing...I wear them every single minute---and I think that is key.
EasyEasy, I guess every case if different, but I am assuming with me being 32, that age is not a huge factor and it depends on the situation? In my case, I do not want surgery to fix my bite, and with my face already being fairly thin, I do not want to have extractions done, so my ortho had me start wearing the bands to see if that would work. Keep in mind that my bite as it shows at 5 months was not my bite in the beginning. It got much worse around the 5 month mark with the canines being brought down and it jutted everything out! I hated it--I was hopeful that the bands would bring me back to where I normally am, and so far..it's working.
I can also tell by how my mouth closes, I absolutely could not close my lips over my braces without looking very awkward. They still show slightly now, but definitly much easier to close my mouth without the bulky feeling I was used to.

[newsboysgrl777]

WOW!! This looks AWESOME!!!! Just remember that, like you said, your bite got worse before it got better, and although this looks good now, you may see another bout of 'worse' before you reach the end. But don't despair and remember this time in your braces journey!!

I'm going to have to have the same thing when I start wearing my rubber bands. Of course, every ortho has his/her own way of doing things and my configuration could be different, but I've got an overjet and overbite, so I'm going to assume that I'll be having lower molars to upper canines just like you. I hope I see just as much movement in such a short time (but PAIN-FREE is what I'm REALLY aiming for...LOL).

[Candymomof3]

yes definitly...it's almost like a month to month love affair..when I go thru "wierd movement" times...I am like ughhh, hate this--I look awful...and then all of a sudden, everything looks a little more "in tune"...I am in one of those times right now, and that makes me happy...but yep...I know...it'll change again!! I go Monday for a wire change...so I am expecting more pain next week.
The bands initially gave me a 3 day headache....but it was like magic...I got used to them and it was okay. I actually love to change them, I hate it when the tension changes...I like the tight compacted feeling---I am crazy!!! I change them 6-7 times a day, each time I brush...

[mikeg]

that's awesome. Surgery is always a last resort in my mind and as you can tell orthodontics alone can do so much. I use to change the bands very frequently as I also liked them tight...

Looking great

[Denise]

Wow that is amazing! How cool that they worked so fast!! I've heard that the straightening is the fastest part of treatment, and that correcting the bite takes so long and the results can come so slow but in your case it seems to be flying! So glad you didn't get surgery, since the elastics really seem to be doing a fantastic job!

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

If that is where your teeth are positioned when your jaw joint is seated in centric relation, then that's fantastic, and I hope very much hope that it is the case! I have seen some patients have this type of movement, but that amount is definitely not typical. Great job with the elastic wear .

To be clear, there are two ways teeth can fit together. One is how the teeth bite together (centric occlusion), and one is where the jaw joints are in the right position (centric relation).

What often happens with patients who wear elastics or appliances is that they begin to habitually posture their jaw forward since the teeth can fit together properly. If this is the case, after stopping elastics, the jaw will no longer posture forward, and it will appear that the overjet has increased overnight. The goal of treatment is to make centric relation and centric occlusion the same. In other words, the jaws should be in the right spot at the same time as the teeth.

A good way of testing this is to try to touch your tonsils with your tongue, closing slowly. This will push your lower jaw back as far as it can go, usually matching centric relation.

Keep up with the elastic wear!

[Candymomof3]

Thanks so much for the input...I see what you are saying...I don't know all the technicalities. but I do know that when I took the pictures, my teeth were sitting quite comfortably on the bottom teeth...if I try to move them back to where I think they were, it is very much a strain to do that and feels very wrong!
I am looking forward to Monday as my Ortho is doing X-rays to determine how well the bands have started to work, so I think that should give me a much clearer picture overall.
I have another year to go, so lots more work ahead, but it's times like these when you start to see that it's really going to happen one day and that my teeth can be just as straight as anyones. Will keep you posted about Mondays visit, 4th adjustment, and stronger wire to be put in. Bring it on! : )

[Sunny]

Wow your front upper teeth appear to have moved really well in a very short time. Here's to your bite soon being where you want it to be!

I also had great movement in the first few months, but then mine slowed down ... and has continued at that pace. Here's to your's not being like that!

[anijh]

Looking good.

[newsboysgrl777]

If that is where your teeth are positioned when your jaw joint is seated in centric relation, then that's fantastic, and I hope very much hope that it is the case! I have seen some patients have this type of movement, but that amount is definitely not typical. Great job with the elastic wear .

To be clear, there are two ways teeth can fit together. One is how the teeth bite together (centric occlusion), and one is where the jaw joints are in the right position (centric relation).

What often happens with patients who wear elastics or appliances is that they begin to habitually posture their jaw forward since the teeth can fit together properly. If this is the case, after stopping elastics, the jaw will no longer posture forward, and it will appear that the overjet has increased overnight. The goal of treatment is to make centric relation and centric occlusion the same. In other words, the jaws should be in the right spot at the same time as the teeth.

A good way of testing this is to try to touch your tonsils with your tongue, closing slowly. This will push your lower jaw back as far as it can go, usually matching centric relation.

Keep up with the elastic wear!

Okay, I feel kind of stupid since I don't REALLY understand all of what you're saying, but I have 3 questions.

1) Your ortho has you wear elastics to put them in the correct alignment (as you mentioned above), right? But, does that mean that if your jaws are misaligned, once wearing the elastics is stopped, your bite will stay wherever the elastics last put it? (I don't know if I worded that right. What I mean is, once your bite/alignment is where your ortho wants it, and (s)he has you stop wearing the elastics (and/or when you're in retainer only wear), will your jaws automatically want to 'relapse' like your teeth do (and thus the need for a retainer?)

2) If they DO want to shift back, is there anything to retain the position of the JAW?

3) I'm confused about how to try to touch your tonsils with your tongue. Maybe I'm not even sure where my tonsils ARE in my mouth. Could you be more specific? (I'm feeling like if I try to touch what I think are my tonsils with my tongue, my jaw doesn't really move, however, my problem is that my lower jaw is already too far back, (my ortho will be bringing it forward), so, is that a moot point?)

Sorry if I'm over-complicating things, but I really am curious about all of this. Thanks, Dr. Tam!!

[Sunny]

3) I'm confused about how to try to touch your tonsils with your tongue. Maybe I'm not even sure where my tonsils ARE in my mouth. Could you be more specific? (I'm feeling like if I try to touch what I think are my tonsils with my tongue, my jaw doesn't really move, however, my problem is that my lower jaw is already too far back, (my ortho will be bringing it forward), so, is that a moot point?)

I'll help with this one Rae, as we often get our patients to do this, so we can see where their correct bite is.

Open your lips and teeth slightly
It's often best if your chin and eyes are facing straight forward ... by that I mean don't have your chin leaning down to your chestNow move your tongue up to the roof of your mouth, then back towards your throat (which is where your tonsils are ... unless you've had them removed)
Now bring your teeth together gently

Where your teeth bite together now ... is referred to as your correct bite.

[Candymomof3]

well...i am back from the ortho--and he is very impressed!!! I am so happy...major difference between my beginning x ray and the one taken today...and also, keep in mind that my bite got a lot worse after braces, so the initial xray was taken before that, so it has worked even better than I thought.---will go blog though...just wanted to note that in here...rubber bands are awesome!

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Okay, I feel kind of stupid since I don't REALLY understand all of what you're saying, but I have 3 questions.

1) Your ortho has you wear elastics to put them in the correct alignment (as you mentioned above), right? But, does that mean that if your jaws are misaligned, once wearing the elastics is stopped, your bite will stay wherever the elastics last put it? (I don't know if I worded that right. What I mean is, once your bite/alignment is where your ortho wants it, and (s)he has you stop wearing the elastics (and/or when you're in retainer only wear), will your jaws automatically want to 'relapse' like your teeth do (and thus the need for a retainer?)

2) If they DO want to shift back, is there anything to retain the position of the JAW?

3) I'm confused about how to try to touch your tonsils with your tongue. Maybe I'm not even sure where my tonsils ARE in my mouth. Could you be more specific? (I'm feeling like if I try to touch what I think are my tonsils with my tongue, my jaw doesn't really move, however, my problem is that my lower jaw is already too far back, (my ortho will be bringing it forward), so, is that a moot point?)

Sorry if I'm over-complicating things, but I really am curious about all of this. Thanks, Dr. Tam!!

In adults we're actually not looking to change the position of the jaw. In fact, we can't do that without surgery, unless the incorrect bite is a slide due to problems such as a crossbite. During treatment, the jaws remain the same size, and there is only one correct position for the jaws in the joint.

What we are trying to do with elastics in class 2 or class 3 correction in adults, is move the teeth in the upper jaw relative to those in the lower jaw.

To determine your centric relation, try to touch the back of your throat with your tongue and then close down naturally. Another way of doing it is to protrude your jaw as far out as possible, and then try to move it as far back the opposite way. This is likely your centric relation. If there is not much of a difference, this means that your centric relation and centric occlusion are relatively close... which is a good thing!