emergency orthodontic care
While genuine orthodontic emergencies are infrequent, know that we’re here for you during such times. If you encounter intense pain or appliance issues you can’t address yourself, reach out to us immediately for assistance. Sometimes, minor adjustments made by you can temporarily alleviate the discomfort until you visit our office.
Temporary Fixes:
- Loose Items: Should any part become loose and removable, store it in a plastic bag and remember to bring it during your next visit.
- Protruding Braces: Apply soft wax to any part of the braces causing irritation.
- Misaligned Wire: If a wire shifts, use needle-nosed pliers to carefully reposition it, ensuring it sits comfortably in the back tooth’s tube.
Common Discomforts and Solutions:
- General Soreness: Post braces installation, it’s common to feel mouth soreness and sensitivity for 3-5 days. Opt for a soft diet, use a warm salt-water rinse for relief, and consider pain-relief medications, avoiding those that can hinder tooth movement like Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Naproxen Sodium.
- Initial Irritations: Initial weeks might bring about irritation to your lips, cheeks, and tongue. This eases as they adjust to the braces’ presence. Soft wax can alleviate this discomfort, and we’ll guide you on its application.
- Headgear Issues: Discomfort may arise if the headgear isn’t worn as directed. Ensure you’re following our guidelines. If the facebow appears bent, contact us. Regular wear usually decreases discomfort.
Dealing with Appliance Issues:
- Loose Appliance: If any appliance irritates, apply wax to soothe the area.
- Loose Bracket or Band: If it remains on the wire, keep it in place, using wax for comfort. If it detaches, keep it safe to show us during your next visit.
- Displaced Wire: Using tweezers, attempt to reposition the wire. If unsuccessful, you can use floss to tie it temporarily or, as a last resort, clip it using nail clippers, ensuring the remaining end is covered with wax if sharp.
- Poking Wire: Reposition a protruding wire using a pencil eraser or cover it with wax.
General soreness
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. Stick to a soft diet until your teeth do not hurt to chew. Irritated gums and other sore spots can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt-water mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in eight ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If the tenderness is severe, take Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. Aspirin, Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and Naproxen Sodium (Naprosyn, Anaprox) actually slow the tooth movement, so it is not advisable to use them frequently while wearing braces.
The lips, cheeks, and tongue may become irritated for one to two weeks as they learn a new posture and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We’ll show you how!
Headgear
Sometimes discomfort is caused by not wearing the headgear as instructed by your orthodontist. Please refer to the instructions provided by your orthodontist. If the facebow (metal piece) is bent, please call our office for assistance. The headgear should hurt less the more it’s worn, so be sure you get in the prescribed number of hours.
Loose appliance
If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part.
Loose bracket
If your bracket or band is still attached to the wire, you should leave it in place and put wax on it if needed for comfort. If the bracket or band can be removed easily, place it in an envelope and save it to bring to your next appointment.
Loose wire
Using a pair of tweezers or needle-nosed pliers, try to put your wire back into place. It is okay to use a piece of floss to tie the wire into place: tie the floss around the bracket in place of the missing colored o-ring. If you cannot put the wire into a comfortable position, and covering the end with wax doesn’t help, as a last resort use a small fingernail clipper to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened. If the end of the wire is still sharp place wax on it.
Poking wire
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it so that it is no longer poking.
