What are Elastics? Elastics are the very tiny rubber bands that hook up to certain brackets on your teeth or slots/buttons of your Invisalign aligners.
What do Elastics do? Elastics are placed on certain brackets to apply force to the teeth in order to fix your bite. The way in which you will wear them depends on whether you have an overbite, underbite, crossbite, open bite, etc. It is super important for you to wear the elastics because it means your teeth need to move in a way that braces alone cannot fix. This is also a responsibility that you as a patient have to do on your own when you leave the office. If you want to finish treatment on time or have a more comfortable bite then we NEED your help!
How do I care for my Elastics? You will be given a few bags of elastics, usually containing about 100 each. Make sure to keep these in safe places where you will remember. Maybe one at home, one in your school bag, or even one in your car. Any of the places you will be the most. If you do keep them in the car, make sure to keep them out of direct sunlight because that will effect the elasticity.
Elastics will lose their elasticity anyways, so we usually recommend changing them once a day. Elastics can also be changed anytime you take them out to eat/brush. We want you to stay hygienic even with orthodontic care. You should be washing your hands before putting them in your mouth, and then washing again after putting the new set of elastics. Especially with the sick season among us, it is just a good rule of thumb to wash before/after putting your hands near your mouth.
If you are allergic to latex, please remind your Orthodontist/Orthodontic assitants as they will provide you with latex-free elastics instead!
Try your best to wear your elastics even if it is uncomfortable to start, it will get easier! It will only help your Orthodontic Journey!
If you ever need more elastics please call and let us know, we also have an Emergency Box outside of all of the offices that you are welcome to at anytime!
