Were Can U Buy Ligature Ties For Braces In Stores?
ligature ties are the things orthodontist use for the color on braces also to keep the wires in place? i want to know were i can find them in a store i dont want to shop online please help!
Quinn - You're not going to find them in any retail store, sadly. To be honest, the most accessible place to buy them is on eBay, search for "elastic ligatures", or "elastometric ligatures" or "ortho ligatures". They come in various shapes (flowers, hello kitty, etc), but I suggest just the normal donut shape. Make sure your ortho is cool with you changing them because some ortho's will flip out if they find out you're changing them (but in my experience, they almost never remember what color you walked out of their office with). Only replace elastic ligatures with new ones -- never replace metal wire ligatures the ortho gives you with elastic ones (theres a reason they use wire on some teeth). Also never replace power chains yourself because not all power chains are the same specification. Changing your own regular-old elastic o-rings is fine though -- I do it almost every day. Make sure you have a curette (dental pick) to pull the old ones off and a pair of locking forceps or a pair of Matheiu pliers (the kind that lock) to put the ligatures on. If you pop a bracket off while doing this, you're screwed. My ortho eventually became cool with me changing mine after a while and even gave me a pair of matheiu pliers. If it feels like you need to pull extra hard to get the O-ring around the tie wings, stretch it out first by putting the nose of the pliers through it and stretching it out a lil. Don't pull the o-rings any more than about 3/8" away from the bracket or you risk popping the bracket off or breaking the o-ring. Don't re-use o-rings.
ligature ties are the things orthodontist use for the color on braces also to keep the wires in place? i want to know were i can find them in a store i dont want to shop online please help!
Quinn - You're not going to find them in any retail store, sadly. To be honest, the most accessible place to buy them is on eBay, search for "elastic ligatures", or "elastometric ligatures" or "ortho ligatures". They come in various shapes (flowers, hello kitty, etc), but I suggest just the normal donut shape. Make sure your ortho is cool with you changing them because some ortho's will flip out if they find out you're changing them (but in my experience, they almost never remember what color you walked out of their office with). Only replace elastic ligatures with new ones -- never replace metal wire ligatures the ortho gives you with elastic ones (theres a reason they use wire on some teeth). Also never replace power chains yourself because not all power chains are the same specification. Changing your own regular-old elastic o-rings is fine though -- I do it almost every day. Make sure you have a curette (dental pick) to pull the old ones off and a pair of locking forceps or a pair of Matheiu pliers (the kind that lock) to put the ligatures on. If you pop a bracket off while doing this, you're screwed. My ortho eventually became cool with me changing mine after a while and even gave me a pair of matheiu pliers. If it feels like you need to pull extra hard to get the O-ring around the tie wings, stretch it out first by putting the nose of the pliers through it and stretching it out a lil. Don't pull the o-rings any more than about 3/8" away from the bracket or you risk popping the bracket off or breaking the o-ring. Don't re-use o-rings.
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