Although most people who have an overbite and get head gear will only have to wear it for 12 to 16 hours a day, there are some who will need to wear it all day long. This might come as “earth shattering” news for those of you in junior high through high school because this means you will have to wear it at school! But don’t despair, there are ways to limit the impact this will have on your social life:
1. You can talk to your orthodontist and parents and see if it is possible to shorten the amount of time you have to wear it a day. Keep in mind that if you decide not to wear it 24/7 you will lengthen the overall time you have to wear headgear. Also, keep in mind that although we are posting this as a suggestion sometimes it is nonnegotiable. For example if you are going to stop growing soon, and you want to get rid of your overbite, you will need to wear it all the time to get the desired results. (Just think - you will thank yourself when you are an adult with a perfectly aligned jaw if you stick it out now!)
2. On your lunch period, you will obviously have to take it off so you can eat so that is one period you will have without it on.
3. There are two styles of headgear: full head brace and neck strap. The head gear with the neck strap is much less bulky and noticeable, but the full head brace is much more comfortable (see our other post The Handy Head Gear Guide). The only issue is that they do different things so chances are if you have a full head brace it is not reasonable to ask to switch to the neck strap, although you can ask your orthodontist.
Assuming you do decide to wear it all day, school is probably the biggest issue for most of you. To be blunt, the first few days you have to wear it, you will probably have your friends making comments or people staring. What you can do to counteract this is to be upfront about the whole thing explain to your friends what the situation is. If you do this, chances are they will be more supportive/sympathetic. The good thing is that after the first week people will be used to it and it won’t be such a big deal anymore. So stick with it!
-Amanda and Erik
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