molar bands but no braces?

[purplebraceface]

yesterday i went to the ortho and he only put 2 molar bands on my top molar teeth and thats it. no braces, no wires yet. and my right molar band seems to be poking at my cheek's gum and it hurts to smile or to even talk. It seems to be scraping it and when I look in the mirror, my gum looks a little swollen. could it be that he put it on wrong? the left one seems to be doing fine.. just the right one that hurts. Anything I can do?

[Phantom Muse]

Did you try covering the contact point with wax? Wax can be your best friend! Now that you have an irritation, it really helps also to rinse with salt water to help heal the scraping before it gets worse. Sometimes a teeny little pokey-thing can really hurt and tear up the inside of your mouth! After you have been braced awhile, you might find that your mouth "toughens" a bit and the little buggers won't bother you as much.

If you feel something is not right, do call your ortho. My daughter had a similar experience, and all was well, but we did take her to the ortho to confirm that there was no problem. It can be a drag to have to make another trip, but if it helps you feel better...

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome Purple.

Some ortho's who still use molar bands consider that putting them on their patients before the brackets, allows some adjusting to these bands to take place. This used to be quite a common practise when most ortho's used molar bands.

During the process of putting the band on, it can be pushed into/under the gum slightly, which will cause some swelling and discomfort for a few days following it's placement.

With molar bands it's important to floss well around those molars and clean the area below the band, so that gum disease is not given a chance to start. If this area continues to hurt after a couple of weeks, give your ortho a call, but until then, salt water rinses and topical creams/gels, like those used for mouth sores, may help the gum area to feel better. Also should the area become red, hot and more swollen give your ortho a call as soon as this happens, as this could indicate an infection.

Good luck with you adjusting quickly to the molar bands!

[annabella]

My daughter got spacers on her upper molars for molar bands. Next week she get her lower braces and bands on her upper molars. Then in 3 weeks she's getting a palatal bar on her uppers that is want the bands are for. So maybe the ortho is going to do something different. She needs to get some baby teeth out so the appliance is to hold in the place the molars( maybe rotate them too)while her premolars come in.
Just call the ortho and ask about the next treatment. The care coordinator should be able to answer any questions. We just started and my ortho said to call when in doubt.
Good luck

[purplebraceface]

Thanks guys! I got my bottom and top braces now.

[Denise]

Congrats on getting your braces today!! Welcome to the club! This is a great place to get not only answers to questions, but to get advice, and just a sympathetic ear - and encouragement too!

[Sunny]

Great that your treatment has started!

Remember to keep well hydrated and if any brackets rub, to cover them with wax, so your mouth toughens without getting sores.

Good luck!