Ow.. my teeth...

[alien]

ok, today i went to go get my braces "fixed" now i have the "Fred" and "Dave" sized rubber bands... The "Fred" (the bigger ones) are used only at night, but the "Dave" (a whopping 3.2 mm or something.. about the size of this "O"[inside], which is half the size of "Fred") i have to wear all day..

but i got htem on today after school, so i havnt been to school with them on.. im not afraid of people calling me names, thats never bothered me before, but the simple stuff like if one snaps and what do i eat for lunch, which will be kind of hard because my teath hurt the most, etc.

Yea.. Raise your hand if you have braces and are on/ know about the "fred" and "dave" stuff...
oh, and are there any cool noises or anything you can do when you have the "dave" sets on? lol... anything to annoy my teachers...

[ArwenEarendil]

Oh. THOSE rubberbands. Mine were called Bear, Kangaroo, Chipmunk, etc.

Chipmunk was 3mm in diameter.

I remember that after talking even a little bit, my mouth would be sore. I wore them for more or less, a year and a half. Of varying sizes.

Bring extra rubberbands, incase one snaps. It happened to me, but no one would really bother you; everyone who has ever had braces usually gets them sooner or later. I usually took my rubberbands off before I ate, and just put them back on when I finished. Same with brushing my teeth.

Again, most people get the rubberbands, so no worries. Just carry an extra pack with you.

[Charisma]

what do the rubberbands do?

I think I need braces so I can correct my overbite, so expensive here though. I wish they were covered by insurance, it's like 4k plus x_x. I rather get my eyes done. I'm worried that eventually I'll get like lock jaw from wearing down the cartlidge in my jaw, I hear that happens. Your jaw starts clicking when opening and closing too wide and can even get stuck. Anyone else know anything about this? It scares me

[ArwenEarendil]

what do the rubberbands do?

I think I need braces so I can correct my overbite, so expensive here though. I wish they were covered by insurance, it's like 4k plus x_x. I rather get my eyes done. I'm worried that eventually I'll get like lock jaw from wearing down the cartlidge in my jaw, I hear that happens. Your jaw starts clicking when opening and closing too wide and can even get stuck. Anyone else know anything about this? It scares me

Rubberband pull your jaw back, ex. overbite, or applies extra strength to close major gaps in your row of teeth. Mainly for overbite though.

[alien]

what do the rubberbands do?

I think I need braces so I can correct my overbite, so expensive here though. I wish they were covered by insurance, it's like 4k plus x_x. I rather get my eyes done. I'm worried that eventually I'll get like lock jaw from wearing down the cartlidge in my jaw, I hear that happens. Your jaw starts clicking when opening and closing too wide and can even get stuck. Anyone else know anything about this? It scares me

well ruber bands pretty much take a bracket on teh braces, then the people take the a "hook" and put it around the wire, tehn you just streach a rubber band where they want you to put them.. that would bo cool to have animal names as rubber bands... i think Steve or something like that got to be teh biggest.. you could be like "mom, this Aardvark isnt getting in my mouth!" or when ur on an elvator.. you can be like "dangit, the elephant just likes to move around in there!" then like start moving your mouth around.. i went up to my mom a while ago and im like "mom, steve s me" it was funny...

[(*Dranzer*)]

Mine were o's that I had to stretch under warm water if I didn't want my teeth feeling like they were being extracted. Urghhhh......

[MyleneFarmer]

I'm worried that eventually I'll get like lock jaw from wearing down the cartlidge in my jaw, I hear that happens. Your jaw starts clicking when opening and closing too wide and can even get stuck. Anyone else know anything about this? It scares me

TMJ. I have it, and you definitely want to avoid it. It can be very, very, very painful, can lead to oral surgery, etc. Thankfully, mine has calmed down since I moved away from my mother (the cause of most of my stress), and started wearing a 'night guard' to bed that keeps me from grinding my teeth at night. My issue was from clenching my teeth during the day and grinding them at night due to stress. The most stress I have, the more often it flares up. Thankfully, I didn't have it bad enough for the surgery or all-day mouthpieces that I couldn't afford. But it still hurt quite a lot until I finally mentioned it to the dentist.

[labbiedor]

This is my second time wearing braces, but I've never heard of "fred" and "dave". I did have to wear rubber bands before, though, and they were a pain. I had those small ones you were talking about and I had to take them out during lunch at school and put new ones back in afterwards, and all these girls came in to watch me put them back on in the bathroom and kept trying to distract me so I'd snap myself with them. XD

So you didn't have these before, right? Usually once you get your rubber bands, it's not too long before you get your braces off! It might be different for you, but I only had to wear the rubber bands for a few months before I got my braces off. But here I am 2 years later with braces...again....D:

(By the way, if you pick at the rubber bands like a guitar string they make a strange noise if you want to annoy your teachers. Just make sure you don't pull them out or you'll snap yourself in the face.)

[Chriso999]

I had the sort they call "train tracks" (now have the evil retainer), which ran along all teeth to straighten them out. However, one tooth was really bad so it needed something they called "powerchains" (basically a linkage of tiny bands). That hurt the most so from experience I would say for the first day or so it's best to eat something like pasta in school and maybe soup at home.

But, all in all, I would have to say that braces have been well worth it, so stick with them!

[ArwenEarendil]

I had the sort they call "train tracks" (now have the evil retainer), which ran along all teeth to straighten them out. However, one tooth was really bad so it needed something they called "powerchains" (basically a linkage of tiny bands). That hurt the most so from experience I would say for the first day or so it's best to eat something like pasta in school and maybe soup at home.

But, all in all, I would have to say that braces have been well worth it, so stick with them!

Oh man, I had them too! They didn't hurt that much for me (overall, my braces barely hurt me). I had the links of rubberbands, the 3mm bands across my teeth and to correct my overbite, AND some extra metal wire wrapped around several teeth just cause they were that bad.

But really, like Chriso999 said, braces are worth it at the end.

[Fiddelysquat]

I had to wear those, too. My advice is to take them out in the bathroom BEFORE lunch, and put them back on in the bathroom AFTER. Seeing someone fiddle with something in their mouth at the lunch table is revolting, and people who take them out and leave them on their lunch tray or something are gross. They give you a bajillion of them, so bring extras to school.

If there's a soup option at your school, go for it. Your mouth is going to be very sore for a bit. Thick milkshakes and cereal that's been left to get a bit soggy in the milk is the best stuff to eat. Your mouth will adjust to having them in, but it'll be a pain until the soreness goes away.

[atomicblonde]

My ortho gave me the bands, but I never actually wore them. The night before I went, I'd just pile on as many as I could put at one time and he never said a word to me, and my smile is perfect right now.

Disclaimer: Not that I'm suggesting you do this. It's painful. And besides, I have weird teeth. I mean, I not once wore my retainer when I got my braces off and my teeth didn't even move the tinest fraction of an inch.

[alien]

This is my second time wearing braces, but I've never heard of "fred" and "dave". I did have to wear rubber bands before, though, and they were a pain. I had those small ones you were talking about and I had to take them out during lunch at school and put new ones back in afterwards, and all these s came in to watch me put them back on in the bathroom and kept trying to distract me so I'd snap myself with them. XD

So you didn't have these before, right? Usually once you get your rubber bands, it's not too long before you get your braces off! It might be different for you, but I only had to wear the rubber bands for a few months before I got my braces off. But here I am 2 years later with braces...again....D:

(By the way, if you pick at the rubber bands like a guitar string they make a strange noise if you want to annoy your teachers. Just make sure you don't pull them out or you'll snap yourself in the face.)

hehehehehehehe.. yea i had them before, but i only had the Fred ones.... and they went from back to front, not the triangle formation thing....

My ortho gave me the bands, but I never actually wore them. The night before I went, I'd just pile on as many as I could put at one time and he never said a word to me, and my smile is perfect right now.

Disclaimer: Not that I'm suggesting you do this. It's painful. And besides, I have weird teeth. I mean, I not once wore my retainer when I got my braces off and my teeth didn't even move the tinest fraction of an inch.

lol my friends sister did this... except she would put on like 3 and then not wear them for the next couple of days.. my brother did that too...

[Pantaliamon]

I just went to the orthodontist last week and they took off the rubber band that I was wearing, but I have a nasty feeling that I'll have them again later on. They didn't name them, but I had it only on one side so it wasn't too bad. I'm sure that it will be worse the next time, though.

I have had the power chains, solid for sometime between six months and a year. My teeth are always in agony, I've just gotten used to it by now. I would be contented to let them rot and fall out, but sadly that's not an option.

I have the added embarrasment of being in college and still wearing braces. I can't wait to get mine off, but my orthodontist is the stoic type and refuses to ever tell a patient when they're getting close...

[Chriso999]

My orthodontist is sound, he told me that at my next appointment (in about 3 months) I will go to night only retainer wearing.