Orthodontic elastics (rubber bands)

The AAO’s definition of elastics, and the force they add

Elastics appear in the glossary of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) under their own name, in an entry that opens with the words rubber bands: “During certain stages of treatment, small elastics or rubber bands are worn to provide individual tooth movement or jaw alignment.” The AAO’s page on orthodontic elastics explains why they are added: elastics supply extra force that braces alone cannot apply.

Rubber bands, and which band the name means

Rubber bands is the everyday name for elastics, and the AAO’s elastics page says they are often known by it. The name needs care, because the AAO’s glossary also gives it to other small parts: the ligature that holds the wire in a bracket, “A tiny rubber band, or sometimes a very thin wire”, and the spacers set between molars when molar bands will be used, “Tiny elastics (rubber bands) that are inserted between molars.”

On this page the name means elastics in the glossary’s sense, like the bands the AAO’s page on living with braces describes on brackets: “Hooks and ball hooks, each attached to a bracket, are used for the attachment of rubber bands (elastics)”.

Wearing elastics on the orthodontist’s prescription

Elastics are worn on the orthodontist’s prescription and placed and removed by the patient, the AAO’s elastics page says, and it warns against wearing more than prescribed. For lost elastics the AAO’s FAQ gives a direct instruction: “If your elastics go missing, make a beeline for your orthodontist’s office.” Where elastics fit among the other parts is covered on the page about treatment with braces, and the bracket, which carries the hooks, is defined in the full glossary.