Well I have been using my elastics now for 7 weeks. In that time I have graduated from Bears to Impalas because I was doing so well at wearing them my teeth had moved enough to use a smaller, tighter elastic. Yay for me! I really wanted Monkeys though…much more fun sounding…oh well!
What can I tell you about elastics?
- To spite popular belief you cannot simply open your mouth and flick them off at people (well I can’t anyway…and I was so looking forward to doing it to my kids!).
- You can eat with them in…and you can (as I often do) swallow them and they will do you no harm (unless you have a latex intolerance, in which case you wouldn’t have them anyway so it’s a moot point!).
- Brushing your teeth with them in is totally not advisable. I am so used to them being there that I forget, and the toothbrush really does get tangled up in it all and the elastic can flick off and ping the side of your mouth…it stings! Also, while they are there you are clearly not scrubbing well enough if they can stay slipped over the bracket and not come off.
- Always carry spares…if you are out somewhere and one is accidentally eaten and you can’t replace it straight away you will almost definitely forget to do so when you get home again! (Ask for a handy MOG keyring to store some spares for emergencies – just be careful when you open it, if it is upside down they will spill out everywhere!).
- You can strum them if you open your mouth wide enough. They make nice plunking sounds…it’s good thinking noise…or is it just me who finds that?
- Time makes them less stretchy. Remember to keep changing them to get the maximum benefit.
The biggest problem I have now is not with actually putting them on (I can do it without a mirror even!) it is noticing when they have come off! I am so used to them that I don’t notice them…so whilst I was diligently wearing them for the first month almost 24 hours a day, I’m really not sure that I am doing so well now as I will sometimes be sitting there and have that gasping panic…where is my elastic…how long has it been missing? Or the alternative answer…oh yes it is still there (yep…I really have done that!).
So I assure you that they may be strange (as with all things orthodontic to be honest!) when you first begin, but you too will become a master elastic wearer in no time!
