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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 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.
The following solutions may help you relieve your discomfort:
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or
place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort.
If your bracket or band is still attached to the wire, you should
leave it in place and put wax on it. If the wire comes out entirely,
wrap the bracket with a tissue.
Using a tweezers, try to place your wire back into place. If doing
this and using wax does not 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 your discomfort continues, place wax on it.
If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part
of your appliance.
Sometimes headgear 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 is bent, please call
our office for assistance. Surprisingly, the headgear may hurt less
if it’s worn more, so be sure you’re getting
in the prescribed hours.
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 salt
water 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 your local pharmacy.
If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or 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!
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