Emergency Care
Life with Braces | Types of Appliances | Palatal Expander | Emergency Care | Retainer Instructions 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 experience severe pain or when you have a painful appliance problem that 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 can 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 to disruptions in your treatment plan.
Loose Bracket
If the bracket is attached to the wire, leave it in place and cover it with wax as needed for comfort. If the bracket comes out completely, place it in a sandwich bag or any other type of container so that you can bring it with you to your next appointment. Avoid connecting elastics or a headgear appliance to any looser brackets or bands. Please call our office to ask if an appointment is necessary.
Soreness from Braces
Soreness will occur off and on during orthodontic treatment. Rinse the mouth with warm salt water. Tylenol or Ibuprofen will also help. In addition, we recommend that patients try to stick to softer foods during this time.
Broken or Poking Wire
If a wire can be easily removed, remove the broken piece. If a wire slips out of its tube, replace the wire in the tube or under the tube hook with tweezers. If the wire still pokes, try to slide it over with your finger or put wax on it until we can see the patient in our office.
Traumatic Accidents
Use ice immediately to reduce swelling. If the teeth are displaced and don’t fit together properly, arch wires are bent, or soft tissue is stuck in the braces, please call or our office immediately.
Irritated Cheeks, Lips, or Tongue
Brackets may irritate soft tissues initially until the tissue toughens (as hands callous). Soft wax will ease the discomfort as does a warm salt water rinse.
Dental Trauma Prevention and Care
While we hope that none of our patients or their families experience dental trauma, the statistics indicate that approximately 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 4 girls will experience a dental injury by the time they finish high school. We have provided the following PDF from the American Association of Orthodontists to help you prevent or assist with the care of dental trauma.
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