You get different types of springs and wires during orthodontic treatment. Forsus spring is one of them. If you are new, you may be curious to know about these springs. In this article, you will get all the answers to your questions.
What is forsus spring appliance in orthodontics?
Forsus spring is a small piece of rod that surrounds a spring that helps to correct bites during orthodontic treatment. Two springs are attached to each side of the jaw that connects both jaws. They help correct bites by moving your teeth and jaw.
Forsus appliance has two loops and two parts such as a spring and a force rod. One loop is situated at the end of the spring part that’s attached to the back of the molar band placed on the upper molar. Another loop is situated at the rod of the rod part that’s attached near the lower canine.
However, if you want to know, read our other articles – what to do if forsus spring is broken.
What do forsus springs do?
Forsus springs fix an overjet or horizontal overbite by putting extra pressure on teeth that allow forward movement of upper teeth and backward movement of lower teeth gradually. When contact force is applied to a tooth, a structural change occurs within the bone, and a gap is created between teeth and bones. The tooth moves along towards space and closes it to fix the bite.
How do forsus springs work?
Along with braces, forsus springs apply additional pressure on teeth that cause structural changes within the bones that surround your teeth. This creates space between teeth and bone that encourage upper teeth to move forward and lower teeth to move backward and corrects the overjet.
After getting the forsus appliance, you feel pain for the first few days because of the extra pressure and changes that occurred within the bone. However, the pain goes away soon. Know what to do if they hurt you.
How long do you wear forsus springs?
On average, forsus springs last for 4 to 6 months on braces to fix the overbite. During this time the spring moves the upper teeth backward and lower teeth forward to strengthen the bite. However, the duration may vary from person to person depending on several factors.
Moreover, all cases aren’t the same. Factors that determine the duration of wearing forsus springs are-
- Amount of overbite and severity of the case
- Patient’s cooperation
- Health and age of the patient
- Condition of teeth
- Periodontal health
- Bone density and tooth movement
Let’s know about all of these factors and know how you can reduce the time.
Factors that determine how long you have to wear forsus springs
Let’s take a look at the factors-
1. Amount of overbite and severity of the case
Before we come to this point, you have to know why overbite is important for forsus springs.
The reason for that is forsus spring is used to correct the overbite. Overbite means the front teeth of upper the jaw overlap more than the front teeth of the lower jaw.
So, our goal is to bring the upper and lower front teeth into a normal position. Because of that, we take help from the forsus springs. It’s a spring with a small rod. It has two ends to attach with braces.
When someone has more overbite, it means it needs more time for correction. But why?
We shouldn’t try to move a tooth more than the ideal range. Teeth move 1 mm approximately every month when we use forsus springs.
So, time depends on how much tooth movement is necessary for the patient. More overbite means, we have to move teeth more.
2. Patient’s cooperation
This is necessary as it may delay treatment. If you can’t maintain forsus springs and cause any damage, there’ll be a break in treatment. So, you should cooperate with your orthodontist and follow the advice.
3. Health and age of the patient
Growing children or young patients can expect faster treatment with forsus spring appliance, as their growth and development aren’t completed. We get a good amount of tooth movement in them.
But, in adults, we get slower tooth movement, and treatment time with forsus springs is a bit long.
The health of the patient also contributes to the length of time.
4. Condition of teeth
The condition of the teeth decides the treatment plan. For natural teeth treatment time with forsus springs can be good. But, if you have a tooth with a crown, bridge, root canal treatment, veneer, or any dental prosthesis, the duration of treatment may delayed than usual.
Sometimes, your teeth may not be in a favorable position which may again cause a delay.
5. Periodontal health
Periodontal health is one of the important factors that determine how’ll progress.
If you don’t have good periodontal health or you can’t maintain periodontal health during the treatment period with forsus springs, the duration of treatment will be prolonged
6. Bone density and tooth movement
The density of the bone that holds your tooth is an essential factor for tooth movement. You’ll understand if you know how tooth movement occurs when we use forsus springs.
Forsus springs are used to move the upper tooth backward and the lower tooth forward. We orthodontists apply a force on a tooth for movement. We use an ideal force. In this case, we use forsus springs to create that force.
When force is applied, the pressure is also applied to the bone that holds the tooth. Because of this pressure changes occurs inside the bone.
The side of the bone that feel the pressure dissolves and a gap is created. A tooth can move using the gap. Opposite to the pressure side, the formation of new bones occurs.
By this process, forsus springs become able to move the tooth.
To do that, first, we attach the forsus appliance and then activate it to create the force. We attach one end of spring to the bracket of upper teeth and another end to the bracket of lower teeth.
Now, you see, bone plays a major role in tooth movement. So, the density of bone is very important.
More the density less the tooth movement. So, we get slower tooth movement in the lower jaw than in the upper, as the bone of the lower jaw is dense.
Moreover, the adult jaw bone is denser than children’s. So, tooth movement in the adult with forsus springs a bit slow.
How to reduce the duration of treatment with forsus spring appliance?
People try to find ways to reduce the time of treatment with forsus appliances. So, they sometimes ask, why don’t we apply more force to get tooth movement fast?
We should never do that. It actually does the opposite, actually, it damage your teeth. Excess orthodontic force damages the pulp and root of teeth. After that, the tooth becomes loose and needs to be extracted. Or, death of a tooth occurs and the root canal or restoration of a tooth becomes necessary.
So, we must apply an ideal force to get the best result. A qualified orthodontist always performs this. So, you don’t need to worry.
Most of the factors, discussed above, aren’t in our hands. But, the thing that you can control is to maintain those springs, maintain oral hygiene and follow your orthodontist’s advice properly.
It’s not that it’ll reduce the duration. But, surely it’ll maintain continuous progress of treatment with forsus springs.
Otherwise, you may damage the forsus appliance or interrupt the continuous tooth movement. This results in delaying the treatment with forsus springs.
So, what do you need to do?
It’s a bit hard to chew, talk, or open your mouth with forsus springs. But, you have to be careful all the time. Otherwise, forsus springs can come off or damage can occur.
You have to be more careful during brushing and flossing your teeth. Learn the right technique of brushing and flossing with braces and forsus springs from your orthodontist.
Moreover, you have to clean your mouth regularly. Otherwise, bad oral hygiene may cause problems with treatment and outcome.
Furthermore, follow all the instructions given by your orthodontist so that treatment runs smoothly till the end.
Know how to speed up braces treatment.
How do you brush your teeth with Forsus Springs?
Brush your teeth three times and day and floss at least once a day with forsus springs. Brush gentry around the brackets where forsus spring is attached to avoid its dislodgement. Use an interdental toothbrush to remove debris from the body of the rod and spring.
While brushing or flossing don’t push the spring or bracket hard or the springs will come off. Learn the proper method of brushing and flossing teeth with braces.
Check out the best braces
How to eat with forsus springs?
You can eat normally with forsus springs but you need to be careful so that springs don’t get damaged. As opening mouth wide while earing isn’t a good idea, make cut foods into small pieces. Avoid hard and sticky foods. Choose foods that are soft and easy to chew.
Know detail about how to eat with springs on braces.
Forsus springs vs rubber bands: Which one is better?
Rubber bands are elastic made attachment for braces that serve the same purpose as forsus spring that’s fixing an overjet or horizontal overbite. But, what is the difference between these two components?
Usually, rubber bands are used more than forsus springs to fix an overbite as they are more comfortable to wear and easy to maintain. However, an orthodontist decides one of these depending on the severity of the case and need. Both forsus springs and rubber bands can straighten teeth effectively.
Rubber bands also put additional pressure on teeth to move upper teeth backward and lower teeth backward.
Know more about rubber bands for braces.
Takeaways
Finally, you have known in detail about, “How long do you wear forsus springs?”.
In short, usually, you have to wear forsus springs for 4 to 6 months depending upon the amount overbite, types of cases and other important factors. However, your orthodontist is the best person who can predict the time.
Follow your orthodontist’s advice to prevent any delaying of treatment. In the end, you must expect a beautiful smile.
