Description

Orthodontic elastic bands are special rubber bands that your orthodontist attaches to small hooks on both your upper and lower braces.

The placement of the bands will depend on where the pressure needs to be placed to help align your teeth. They can go diagonally or vertically to apply force in areas where your braces can’t by themselves. 

Brace elastics look very similar to the rubber bands that you can buy from any stationery store or post office, but they are not the same. Orthodontic bands are designed specially to apply the right amount of pressure to your teeth. So you shouldn’t just use any elastic bands as they won’t work as efficiently or at all. 

They typically consist of latex, but there are bands available that are latex-free for those that may have an allergy to latex. Bands can be made from either synthetic material or latex, but this study shows that latex bands last much longer and are more stable over a 24 hour period.