The first step is get your teeth ready for the bands. The orthodontist’s assistant will remove the separators from your mouth and polish your teeth until your teeth are perfectly clean. It takes a few minutes, but the orthodontist’s assistant needs to do this carefully, so that you do not get any cavities under your bands. Once your teeth are clean, the orthodontist’s assistant will measure your teeth and try to determine what size bands you need. Bands, though, are like shoes. Even if the bands are the right size, the assistant needs to try them on to make sure they fit. It usually takes several tries before the orthodontist’s assistant finds a band that exactly fits your teeth. Do not worry though. Bands come in 50 different sizes, so there is sure to be one that fits.
Next the orthodontist or his assistant will attach the bands to your teeth. First, your teeth must be dried completely. The orthodontist or the orthodontist’s assistant will place cotton rolls on both sides of your teeth. They will also put a tube into your mouth that looks like a straw. The tube is attached to a small wet-dry vacuum to suck up all of the liquid from your mouth. Next the orthodontist or the orthodontist’s assistant will put some special cement onto the band and push the band onto your tooth. The orthodontist will usually ask you to help him get the band on, by you biting down on a special “bite stick” to help push the band on the tooth. The orthodontist or his assistant will repeat this process until they have installed bands on four of your teeth. Then you will be asked to bite down on cotton rolls for approximately 5 to 10 minutes to hold the bands in place until the cement hardens. After the cement hardens the orthodontic assistant or orthodontist will take a special tool called a scaler to remove the excess cement from around the band. The scaler looks sharp, but do not be afraid. It does not hurt.