Relieve Pain & Deal With Common Orthodontic Issues
True orthodontic emergencies are rare, but from time to time, issues do arise while straightening your smile. Often, a quick fix can help you stay pain-free until you can get to our office.
Painful rubbing and poking, loose pieces of braces, and wires that have slipped out of place can all be temporarily resolved with a little know-how.
After alleviating your discomfort, call our office right away to schedule a time for us to correct the issue properly. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions to your treatment plan.
See below for some easy tips and tricks to help relieve general discomfort and temporarily resolve appliance issues until you can see your orthodontist for care.
How to Address Common Orthodontic Issues
Experiencing an orthodontic emergency? Below are some simple, quick fixes to help relieve general discomfort and temporarily resolve appliance issues until you can see your orthodontist for care.
I am Experiencing General Soreness
When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth, and your teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. Stick to a soft diet until your teeth do not hurt while chewing.
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 headaches 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 will show you how!I Think a Bracket is Loose
If one of your brackets or bands has come off but is still connected to the rest of your braces, call our office, and we will advise you of the best time to come in for a repair. In some cases, we may note the breakage and fix it at your upcoming appointment, or if we consider it an emergency, we will suggest you come in to have it re-glued.
My Forsus Springs Have Come Loose
Occasionally, if the mouth is opened too wide (often during yawning or taking a big bite of food), the spring and rod can separate. In this case, follow the instructions in this video to reconnect the spring. If a piece of the Forsus Spring has come out of your mouth, please save it and give us a call. We will set up an appointment with you to repair it.
I Have Lost or Broken My Retainer
If this happens, it is best to contact us right away. If several weeks are allowed to pass without wearing your retainer, your teeth could start to shift back out of place, which could lead to extra time and money to fix. We can make you a new retainer within a few days, or if your lower wire retainer has come un-glued, we can repair it in one visit for a nominal fee (as long as there has been no shifting of the teeth).
I Have a Poking Wire
First, check to see if the wire has come out of the last bracket on the other side of your mouth (i.e., if the wire is poking on the left side, check if the wire is out of the last bracket on the right side). If this is the case, call us and we can help arrange a time for you to visit the office, where we can slide the wire back into position.
If the wire does not appear to have come out of the last bracket, you can use a clean pair of nail trimmers or cuticle scissors to cut the excess wire sticking out the back.
Alternatively, you can place wax on the poking wire and call us to arrange a time for you to come by the office and have the wire trimmed by our staff.
I Have Lost or Damaged an Aligner
If an aligner is lost or damaged, give us a call to let us know. Then, you can either go back to wearing the aligner you used right before the one you lost (if you still have it), or you can put in your next aligner early. Which option is best will depend on how long you had worn the lost aligner. If you had only just started wearing the lost aligner go back to the previous one. If you had worn the lost aligner for over a week, it may be best to move to the next one.