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Logo for Orthodontic Specialists Dr. Jeff Erickson, featuring a blue curved line above the text "ORTHODONTIC SPECIALISTS", "Dr. Jeff Erickson", and the tagline "Creating Confident Smiles".

ELASTICS

A profile shot of a young man with light brown, side-swept hair, wearing a blue and black plaid button-down shirt and smiling to reveal orthodontic braces, positioned against an outdoor, blurred natural background.

One of the most important parts of orthodontic treatment is elastic wear. Elastics are worn throughout treatment to correctly align a patient’s bite. If elastics are not worn as instructed, it will result in longer treatment times.

FAQ:

Wearing elastics is going to help align your top and bottom teeth to correct your bite and make it comfortable.

It is very important to wear your elastics all the time! Wearing elastics is the only way we can get your braces off on time.

At first there will be some soreness, BUT the more you wear them, the less they will hurt.

HOW DO I WEAR MY ELASTICS?

Class II:  A class II elastics is used to correct over jet. Class II elastics are hooked from the first hook on the upper arch to the last hook on the lower arch.

A dental model showing a side profile of upper and lower teeth equipped with metal braces and a green archwire, connected by a pink elastic band stretched between an upper canine bracket and a lower molar hook.

Class III: A class III elastics is used to correct an under bite. Class III elastics are hooked from the last hook on the upper arch to the first hook on the lower arch.

A dental typodont model showing orthodontic braces on both arches, with a pink elastic rubber band connected between a hook on an upper molar bracket and a hook on a lower canine bracket.

Box: The box elastics are used to close the bite and tighten everything together. Box elastics are hooked from the first hooks on the upper and lower arch to the back hooks on the upper and lower arch.

A side-view model of human teeth featuring metal braces with teal ligatures, connected by pink orthodontic rubber bands extending from the upper to the lower arches.

Midline:  Midline elastics are used to align the center of the upper and lower arches. Depending on how the bite needs to be adjusted, the elastic will be attached from the first hook on the upper right down to the first hook lower left side or from first hook on the upper left side down to the first hook on the lower right side.     

A dental model displaying orthodontic braces on both the upper and lower teeth, featuring light blue ligature ties and various colored rubber bands connected to hooks on the brackets.
A dental model showing teeth with metal braces, including a teal-colored elastic chain across both the upper and lower arches, pink elastics on the side, and a neon green elastic cross-elastics connecting the upper and lower brackets.

Triangle: Triangle elastics are worn to help close an open bite. Triangle elastics are hooked on the first hook on the upper arch down to the first two hooks on the lower arch.

A dental model of upper and lower teeth set in pink acrylic gums, featuring orthodontic brackets, archwires, and teal colored ligatures. A triangular pink orthodontic elastic is stretched between hooks on the canine and premolar brackets on both the top and bottom teeth.

Cross: A cross elastic is worn to correct a cross bite. Dr. Erickson will attach a bracket to the inside of the first molar on the upper arch. An elastic can then be worn off that bracket down to a hook on the lower arch.