Elastic bands are a critical part of some people's braces treatment. While those tiny rubber bands may not look like they can do much, the truth is that they are designed to apply just the perfect amount of pressure to help move your child's bite into proper alignment. However, those bands must be worn for the majority of the day and night for them to work, which means that you need to use these tips to help your child remember to keep them in their mouth.
Make Sure They Know How to Wear Them
Interarch bands are typically placed between specific top and bottom brackets, or they may be placed between the front and back brackets on the side of the upper or lower arch. The proper placement of these bands is critical for the effectiveness of your child's orthodontics treatment. During their appointment, have your child demonstrate to their orthodontist how they wear the bands so that they can be shown how to correct any mistakes. For instance, putting the bands on the wrong bracket could cause your child's bite adjustment to stall.
Help Them Pick Out Fun Colors
Orthodontic appliances have come a long way, and your child can pick out different colored bands to suit their mood. Try having them wear their favorite sports team colors, or they could mix two different colors to have some extra fun. When your child selects their elastic bands to customize their appearance, they will be more likely to remember to put them back in their mouth after eating or brushing their teeth.
Put Them Everywhere
Rubber elastic bands for braces are strong, but they can break without warning. Your child may also lose one if they take them out for lunch at school. Make sure that your child always has access to their bands. Put some spares in their lunch bag, sports tote, and school oral hygiene kit. When they sight their bands during their everyday activities, they'll be more self-aware of whether or not they are wearing them.
Set an Alarm for Changes
Although rubber bands can be re-worn after eating, your child still needs to completely replace them regularly. Talk to their orthodontist to determine how often this needs to be done, and set an alarm for your child to use to keep up with these changes.
For many kids, treating crooked teeth or a misaligned bite is one of their first big responsibilities. Now the you know how to help them keep up with those rubber bands, go ahead and get started making sure that they are always available when your kid needs them.
Share5 December 2018
My son was outside playing with some friends when he accidentally fell down and hit his mouth on the sidewalk. The fall knocked out his front tooth, so I immediately placed the tooth in a small jar and added some milk. I rushed my son to the dental clinic and the dentist immediately took us into the examination room. The dentist placed the tooth back into the socket and saved it. My name is Beverly Tillman and thanks to the quick work of the dentist, my son didn't lose his tooth. Since this was a scary time for me and my son, I wanted to write this blog as a source of information for other parents who are facing a dental emergency. First of all, don't panic and get to your dentist as soon as possible. I hope this blog will help to answer your questions about dental emergencies.