How is the feeling with elastics? Do they get more tension, if you open the mouth? And if yes, does it hurt to open the mouth completely?
I was elated to finally get elastics! I felt my treatment had gotten pretty boring so with the introduction of something fresh, I happily wore them as directed. The initial pain was masked by the normal tension that accompanies your average wire change, so by the time my teeth weren't as tender, the elastics felt very natural to have in constantly. I discovered upon running out of elastics the week before my last appointment, that at this point it actually hurts a great deal to NOT wear them. The clinic was very quick to give me ample bags for future use. Even after having had them for more than a month, I'm still finding myself opening and closing to hear the stretch and squeaks of the worn rubber. When you first put in a new set, the tensions' only really noticeable if you keep your mouth open, since if you're like me, they're only attacked to individual hooks on either jaw, so the tension is more focused on specific teeth. I DEFINITLY wouldn't say that they "hurt". Like I said, at this point it hurts more to NOT wear them, so the initial tension when installing a new set actually feels very nice. After a few hours they start to really lose their tension, and admittedly I'm not as good about replacing them every 4 hours,
but I do like to think I make up for it by having them in while eating mostly, since they get way more activation. Only time they've come out while eating is when I've eaten strawberries, since the shape of them is perfect for pushing my rubber bands off of their hooks, so be warned!
As you can imagine, I'm TRULY hoping I can be prescribed a more noticeable appliance besides the transpalattal bar I'm already set to have before my time in braces comes to its close. Wish me luck!
