A common question we get from our patients in Vaughan is: What is an Orthodontic Spring? Why do you have to use it?
We generally use the spring on patients that have a significant “overjet” – which means the upper teeth protrude considerably ahead of the lower teeth. If the overjet is minimal, we can often fix it just with elastics/rubber bands. That being said, elastics are removable and the majority of patients do not wear them 24×7. Being fixed to the braces, the spring is constantly working and also provides more force than elastics. We often refer to the spring as “elastics on steroids”.
To summarize, if the overjet is small, we use elastics unless our patients are not compliant. In these circumstances, we will put in the spring. If the discrepancy is large, sometimes we start with elastics but often still have to use the spring – even if our patients are champions with their elastics. As mentioned, this is because there is a limitation to the elastics and they may just not be strong enough in a particular case to get the desired result.
For more information about the spring, feel free to contact our orthodontic office in Vaughan.
