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If you already wear traditional braces, you know all about these helpful little rubber rings. But if you are new to the world of braces, you might like to know just what kind of elastics are available and what they can do for you.

• Ligatures: Alignment Assistance

When you get your braces, the brackets you’ve chosen will be bonded to your teeth. Once they are attached securely, an arch wire will be threaded through the brackets to provide consistent gentle pressure, moving your teeth into their best positions. But what holds that wire in place? This is where those tiny, colorful bands, called ligatures, come in. Fit snugly around the wire and the bracket, they keep the wire where it needs to be to move your teeth to a better alignment.

There are also ligatures call “c-chain ligatures,” or “power chains.” These tiny ligature bands are connected to each other, and fit across the brackets in one long strip. This design lets them not only hold your wires in place, but help move your teeth closer together at the same time. They come in a variety of sizes depending on the spacing of your teeth, and might be worn weeks or months as needed.

One thing to remember is that while ligatures are essential, they are not permanent! Every time you have your wires tightened or replaced, you can make this an opportunity to express your personality through your choice of bands. There is a wide variety of color choices available, so take advantage of it!

Show your school spirit by displaying your high school’s colors. Go orange and black for Halloween. Match your ligature tones to your go-to clothing colors. Or, go monochromatic. Match grey or silver bands to your brackets, or choose white or clear bands if you have ceramic brackets. (One word of caution—light colored ligatures can pick up stains from dark foods and drinks. On the other hand, they won’t be around that long!)

• Rubber Bands: Building Better Bites

While ligatures are the colorful attention-getters in the elastics world, there are other bands that do very important work. When you have a malocclusion, or bad bite, your upper and lower jaws don’t fit together perfectly. We use rubber bands to align your bite correctly and carefully move it into the proper position. This is accomplished by attaching bands to tiny hooks on specially chosen brackets on the upper and lower teeth. The bands usually connect an upper bracket to a lower one, and are specifically placed to correct your unique bite problem.

If you need this type of elastic, you will play a very important part in making your orthodontic treatment work. You will probably need to wear your bands 24 hours a day, removing them only for brushing and flossing. (Talk to us about how to work with your bands when you are eating, playing an instrument, or wearing a mouthguard.) And they need to be replaced several times a day, which is where you come in.

Even if the bands look perfect, after hours of work, they lose the tightness needed to keep moving your teeth to their best position. Bands that are too loose won’t be as effective. On the other hand, doubling the bands is a bad idea because that might apply too much force. Bands come in a variety of sizes and strengths, and yours have been chosen for this specific phase of your treatment. Keep calm, keep to a schedule, and keep a supply of bands on hand in case one breaks, and everything will work out.

If this sounds like a lot of confusing information, don’t worry! Dr. Randall Welser and Dr. Kirby Marine will supply you with the right bands for your treatment, clear instructions on where and how to place them, and practice time for putting them in. You’ll probably need a mirror at first, but you’ll become an expert in no time.

If you ever have questions we can help you with, contact our Moline or Geneseo, IL or Clinton, IA office immediately. We are here to guide you through the process and help you with any problems you might have. Wearing your bands consistently and correctly will help you achieve your beautiful smile in the shortest time possible. And that’s an accomplishment that is truly fantastic!

Now that you’re a teenager, you have a lot more responsibility and independence. Choosing high school classes and electives. Getting a driver’s license. Landing your first job. And those new responsibilities extend to your dental health as well!

• Braces

If you’ve just gotten braces, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. Learning how to brush and floss effectively, attaching rubber bands several times a day, keeping track of your hours if you’re wearing clear aligners—it can seem like a lot. But you can do it! With time and practice, caring for your braces will become just another part of your daily routine. Dr. Randall Welser and Dr. Kirby Marine and our team are here to make sure you have all the information and tools you need to succeed. The most important thing to remember is that the better you follow our instructions, the quicker and more effective your orthodontic treatment will be.

• Retainers

If you’ve successfully completed your orthodontic treatment, dealing with your retainer should be a piece of cake! We will give you clear instructions on how long each day you should wear your retainer. Sticking to this schedule is really important--if you don’t wear the appliance as directed, you can undo some of the progress you’ve worked so hard to make. And when you’re not wearing your retainer, be sure it has a safe life outside your mouth. Keep it in a protective case, and keep it someplace where the puppy/the washing machine/the cafeteria trash bin won’t find it.

• Mouthguards

If you have a mouthguard for sports or athletic activities, wear it! Whether you have an over-the-counter device or a custom fabricated guard, it won’t do you any good hiding in your locker. A mouthguard cuts down on tooth and facial injuries caused by falls, physical contact, or other accidents that might happen in your active life. And if you wear braces, ask about a mouthguard designed to fit around them. These custom devices protect your braces and your mouth.

Finally, remember that sticking with your dental routine—two minutes of brushing morning and night and thorough flossing each day—will keep your gums and teeth healthy throughout your teen years. And, if you have any questions about your dental health in general, or a specific dental concern, give our Moline or Geneseo, IL or Clinton, IA office a call! We’re here to work with you for a lifetime of beautiful smiles.

If you’ve just gotten braces at our Moline or Geneseo, IL or Clinton, IA office, you’ve probably also learned a whole new vocabulary. Malocclusion, brackets, archwires, ligatures, elastics—you’ve got the definitions down. But now you’re scheduled for an “adjustment.” What exactly does that mean?

Why Do I Need an Adjustment?

After all, you’ve just gotten braces! But the fact is, moving your teeth to their ideal location is a process that involves many steps. The brackets and wires you have today are only a starting point. Wires, and rubber bands if you need them, put gentle pressure on the teeth, gradually moving them into a better position. Every time we see you, we check the progress you’ve made and adjust your braces to move the teeth into even better alignment. It’s a careful process to make sure your teeth and jaws fit together perfectly for straight teeth and a healthy bite.

What Will Happen at an Adjustment?

Because your braces are made specifically for you, there is no one answer for everyone or even every appointment. Usually, your ligatures (the colorful bands around your brackets) will be removed, and often the orthodontic wire that is attached to your brackets will be removed as well. We’ll check to make sure you are brushing and flossing properly around your wires and brackets, and check on the condition of your braces.

Your wire might be adjusted, or bent, or tightened, or replaced all together. In the beginning, the wire will probably be more flexible. Later in your treatment, you might get a thicker, firmer wire to move your teeth more effectively, or we might bend a wire to move specific teeth.

If you need rubber bands to make sure your bite is in alignment, we’ll show you how to attach and take care of those. We’ll also look for other adjustments that might need to be made to your brackets. If you have any concerns about brackets, wires, or any other part of your braces, let Dr. Randall Welser and Dr. Kirby Marine know! And once we’re done adjusting your braces, this is your chance to change the color of your ligatures for a new look.

Will It Hurt?

You might suffer some discomfort in the hours after an adjustment, so treat yourself gently! Stick to soft foods for a few days, and treat yourself to something cold and soothing like ice cream, yogurt, or a smoothie. Brush gently if your teeth are sensitive. Usually, over-the-counter pain relievers will take care of any soreness. You can even take a pain reliever 30 minutes to an hour before the adjustment if you are expecting some discomfort. We have more great ideas on how to reduce any tenderness you might feel—let us know if we can suggest some.

Within a day or two, you should be back to normal. If you ever suffer serious discomfort, or if the soreness lasts more than a few days, give us a call.

Remember, each adjustment brings you closer to your goal—straight teeth and a healthy bite. And that’s the definition of a beautiful smile!

On a recent relaxing Saturday afternoon, I was enjoying some college football and watching one of my favorite games of the year: Army vs. Navy. Orthodontists tend to be pretty anal and spend most of their time thinking about teeth, so I was enjoying the temporary distraction from tooth talk and tooth thought. And then it happened. A commercial for a do-it-yourself orthodontic company! Suddenly my thoughts switched from football back to teeth. Ugh!
For those that are not aware, several DIY, at-home aligner companies have exploded in to the market over the last few years. They are trying to ‘disrupt’ the orthodontic industry and sell their products directly to the consumer and cut out the orthodontist altogether. Now, full disclosure, I am a DIYer. You can watch a YouTube video and learn how to do just about anything. But trying to perform your own orthodontic care without seeing an orthodontist can have much more serious consequences than trying to build your own bookshelf.
From an outside perspective, this looks like another example of industry disruption, like Uber vs. taxis, Airbnb vs. hotels, or Amazon vs. basically all retail. On the surface, pursuing orthodontic treatment may feel like buying a product and just looking for the best deal out there. But when you make the often life-changing decision to have orthodontic treatment you’re not buying a product; you’re investing in a medical treatment and in the doctor that delivers that treatment. Orthodontists are dental specialists, and spend an additional 6-7 years after college earning their dental degree, followed by a post-graduate program to earn a specialty certificate and often a Master’s degree in order to attain the title of Orthodontist. When patients come to see us, we take extensive records and use our knowledge and expertise to provide a complete diagnosis of the crowding, bite, and determine if teeth are even healthy enough to be moved with orthodontics.
DIY treatment won’t provide that information. The typical at-home process involves having the patient take a few selfies of their bite and then mix some of that goopy impression material to take molds of their own teeth. Now it’s no secret that people don’t love impressions, and that’s when people that know what they’re doing are taking them. Imagine having to take them on yourself. Without accurate impressions, the aligners won’t fit properly, and without properly fitting aligners, the teeth won’t move as planned. So, before you drop a few thousand dollars on unsupervised treatment to change your teeth, bone, gums, and bite, let’s review some pros and cons of DIY orthodontics.

PROS:
- DIY aligner treatment is cheaper than seeing an orthodontist
- DIY aligner treatment is convenient. You never have to leave your home.

CONS:
- No clinical examination is done and no radiographs are taken. As stated earlier, this information provides the basis for a safe and effective treatment plan. Sure, the main benefit a lot of people get out of orthodontics is a cosmetic one, but there’s much more going on behind the scenes when you pop those aligners in your mouth or get your braces adjusted. As teeth feel the forces exerted on them by braces or aligners or any other orthodontic appliance, the bone around your teeth is actually remodeling and changing, which is what allows the teeth to slowly move and straighten. The process happens safely when the bone is healthy and tooth movements are properly planned. Tooth movement in and through unhealthy bone can accelerate loss of bone and in the worst cases, even lead to loss of teeth. Even if the bone is healthy, but the tooth movements aren’t planned or performed properly, those risks still exist. There’s just no substitute for a real in-person orthodontist when it comes to providing an individualized treatment plan with the biology of bone and the mechanics of tooth movement front and center.

- There isn’t an orthodontist directly supervising your treatment. Orthodontic treatment doesn’t usually play out like the slick 3D video simulations you may have seen. Big or small modifications to the plan may need to happen during treatment to achieve your goals, and that’s another reason it’s important to have the orthodontist that created your plan involved in monitoring your progress and making any needed adjustments along the way. In the DIY world, rarely is direct communication with the doctor that created your tooth movement plan allowed. So if something is going wrong, your only option is to voice your concerns to a customer service representative. These are generally people that are going to be completely unfamiliar with your prescribed tooth movements. It’s frustrating when the teeth aren’t moving the way you hoped and you can’t get answers as to why.

- Many kinds of tooth movements are difficult if not impossible with DIY aligners. So here is a little-known fact about clear aligner treatment: about 95% of cases require attachments to be bonded to some of the upper and lower teeth. These are small tooth-colored bumps customized in shape and size that aid the aligners in moving the teeth as prescribed, and are then removed at the end of treatment. Tons of research and thousands of completed cases have proven that using these attachments is a key factor in the success of getting teeth to move the way we want them to. The aligners engage these attachments to deliver the specific forces necessary to produce the desired tooth movement. Without attachments, some tooth movements just aren’t possible, and other tooth movements might only get 50% of the way there. Attachments can only be placed and removed by a licensed doctor, so that means DIY aligners simply won’t have them. The lack of attachments is just one example of the options that aren’t available in DIY systems.

In all honesty, is it possible that DIY aligners might do the trick for some people with truly simple issues? It is. Someone with just a little bit of crowding, or a little bit of spacing might respond well to the use of one of these systems and be happy with the results. But more often than not there are underlying reasons for why that little bit of crowding or spacing exists, and if those reasons aren’t identified and resolved, then a seemingly simple issue could become a much more complex one with a host of unintended consequences. The only way to really find out whether your issues are quite simple or deceivingly more complex is to visit an orthodontist for a thorough examination and records.
At Orthodontic Group we offer complimentary exams to new patients that include diagnostic x-rays, digital photos, and a 3D scan of your teeth and bite (no goopy impressions!). We are an Invisalign Platinum provider, which means we’ve treated hundreds of cases with clear aligners and are experts at knowing what is possible with plastic. But most importantly, we take the time to talk to you about what we see, about what your goals are with orthodontic treatment, and thoroughly explain what options are available to help you meet those goals. And if affordability is a concern, we can work with you to stay in your budget with in-office financing and payment plans. You have nothing to lose by seeking an expert opinion before taking on the risks of DIY orthodontics. Call us, e-mail us, or submit an appointment request on our website today!
In case you were wondering, the Army Black Knights defeated the Navy Midshipmen 17-10. Through 2018, Navy leads the series 60-52-7 but has lost the last three games.