True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur we are available to you. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experiencing a painful situation you can’t take care of yourself. We’ll be able to schedule an appointment to resolve the problem.
You might be surprised to learn that you may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you schedule an appointment with our office. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. After alleviating your discomfort, it is very important that you still call our office as soon as possible to schedule a time to repair the problem. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions in your treatment plan.
1. If a wire is poking
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort. You can also simply clip the wire and pull out the back segment. If you cannot make it comfortable, call immediately. If you did make it comfortable, please come in when it is convenient for you.
2. Loose bracket or band
If your bracket or band is still attached to the wire, you can either clip the wire and remove the bracket, or leave it in place and put wax on it. If the wire comes out entirely, wrap the bracket with a tissue.
3. Loose wire
Using tweezers, try to put your wire back into place. If doing this and using wax doesn’t help, use a small wire-cutter (or fingernail scissors) to clip the wire in front of the problem. If your discomfort continues, place wax on it and call us to come in.
4. Loose Appliance
If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part of your appliance.
5. Sore teeth/gums
When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. Placing Orabase on the affected area may help; this can be found in a pharmacy. If the tenderness is severe, take whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain.
The lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We’ll show you how when you get your braces on.
For additional information, pictures or “how to” movies regarding emergency care, you can download the iBracesHelp application directly from your smart phone.