About Your Orthodontic Elastics

What Do They Do?
• Elastics are used for any of the following reasons:
• To move individual teeth
• To move groups of teeth
• To help your teeth settle and fit together

What Do They Look Like?
Elastics look much like tiny rubber bands, and are made from non-toxic, biocompatible latex rubber. Elastics come in many different sizes, with the size determining the amount of force that will be generated when the elastics are in place.

Wearing Your Elastics
Your elastics should be worn precisely as instructed. Always be sure to attach your elastics to the proper teeth. Never change the number of elastics, their sizes, or attach them to teeth other than as instructed - these changes will make the elastics less efficient and decrease their effectiveness. Your elastics should be worn 24 hours a day except when eating and brushing your teeth, unless instructed otherwise. After removing your elastics, always be sure to replace your elastics with new ones. Should you lose your elastics, call us immediately and we’ll make arrangements to give you more - we can even mail them! If you lose the hook that your elastics attach to, attempt to wear your elastics from the bracket itself. If you can’t, call us to make arrangements to have the hook replaced.

Some Things to Expect
Like anything new, a period of adjustment is natural and to be expected. It is normal for you to experience some soreness in your teeth for the first few days. After two to three days, you can expect to feel 100% better. Remember, the more consistently you wear your elastics, the quicker they will move your teeth - it’s up to you!

AND...
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to call us!