Orthodontic emergencies are rare, however they do occur. If you are experiencing severe pain or a serious problem with your treatment or appliance first consider the severity of the problem. Can the situation be taken care of yourself, temporarily, until your next appointment using the steps above? If it is an urgent situation requiring immediate attention do not wait until your next appointment to seek help.
If you are experiencing severe pain or a serious problem with your treatment or appliance first consider the severity of the problem. Can the situation be taken care of yourself, temporarily, until your next appointment using the steps above? If it is an urgent situation requiring immediate attention do not wait until your next appointment to seek help.
WHAT COUNTS AS AN ORTHODONTIC EMERGENCY?
We have emergency appointments available. While most orthodontic issues are minor and can wait a few days, please contact us if:
Occasionally a band or bracket may become loose during treatment. This may be caused by eating hard foods such as apples or carrots.
The loose bracket or band should still be attached to the main wire and is not a cause for concern. It may feel loose as it is no longer attached to the tooth, however it will still be attached to the wire, usually with a small elastic, and will be stable. If the bracket or band is not attached to the wire, immediately remove it from the mouth and give us a call for advice on the next steps.
Call our receptionists during business hours for advice on how to deal with this. If you have an appointment coming up in the next week or two, we may not need to see you in the meantime.
If you are using an expansion appliance, the band may have simply ‘popped’ off the tooth. Try placing the band directly over the tooth to which it was attached and push it back onto the tooth. It may help to look at the other side of the mouth and copy what you can see.
Popping the band back over the tooth will make it more comfortable and keep the appliance out of harm’s way. The band should stay on the tooth by itself — avoid eating hard or sticky foods to prevent the band becoming loose again.
Once the band is safely over the tooth, we recommend calling our receptionists to advise them of the issue.
During your braces treatment a wire may become loose or dislodged. This is not uncommon or a cause for concern, and often occurs during the early stages of treatment when the wire is thin and flexible.
Loose wires will usually be at the very back of the mouth. As long as the wires towards the front of the mouth are still intact this is not a significant problem and will not prevent the wires at the front from doing their job. If the loose wire is closer to the front of the mouth, give our receptionists a call to schedule an appointment.
There are a few things you can do to deal with a loose wire; all methods can be used regardless of whether the wire is at the front or back of the mouth. We recommend getting some help from a family member or friend when trying any of the methods listed below:
Replacing the Wire into the Hole
Try placing the loose wire back in one of the tubes or holes in the bracket. It often helps to look at the other side of the mouth and copy what you see. You may find the use of tweezers helpful with this as it can be quite fiddly. Do not worry about breaking the wire when you are wiggling it, they are quite flexible.
Dental Wax
Provided by your orthodontist or dentist, dental wax can be placed over the end of the wire. This wax will cover the sharp end of the wire, making it more comfortable and keeping it out of harm’s way until you can visit our clinic.
Cutting the Wire
As a last resort, you can cut the loose part of the wire, this won’t stop the rest of the braces from continuing to do their job. This is easy to do using a standard pair of nail clippers – but watch out for your cheeks, gums and tongue. When cutting the wire, try to make the cut as close to the next brace as you can. You may need to stretch the cheek back to get to the wire, luckily our cheeks are very flexible!
Contact Us
Once you have dealt with the loose wire using one of the above methods, be sure to give our friendly receptionists a call. They can advise whether or not you will need to schedule an earlier appointment.
Modules or ligatures are small elastic rings used to hold brackets onto the arch wire. The rings are wrapped around the individual braces attaching them to the arch wire, providing force to move the teeth.
Modules are changed each time that the wire is tightened or braces are adjusted. These modules come in many different colours – up to 24 to choose from.
Sometimes these small elastics may happen to come off between appointments. If this happens within a week or two of your next appointment these is no need to be concerned.
If the module comes off more than two weeks before your next appointment gives our friendly reception staff a call and they will advise whether you need to book an earlier appointment. If you feel the tooth the module has come off is moving, and no longer straight, please call to schedule an earlier appointment.
It is quite normal to feel mild pain or discomfort after any new orthodontic appliance is placed or after one of your routine adjustment appointments. Your orthodontic appliance needs to move the teeth, the discomfort is usually a sign that your treatment is working!
If you think you may have an emergency, the first step is to determine the severity of the problem: Is it an urgent situation that requires immediate attention, or a minor problem that you can temporarily take care of yourself until you can come in to our office?
Pain Relief
You can seek relief through a mild analgesic, such as Nurofen or Panadol. Remember to ask your parents first and always follow the directions on the packet or talk to a pharmacist for further advice. Stick to eating soft foods such as yogurt, banana or soup to reduce any further discomfort. The pain should usually settle after 2-3 days.
Orthodontic Wax
Often a new appliance will rub on the cheeks, tongue or gums which can be uncomfortable or annoying. If so, we recommend using some of the orthodontic wax, provided by your orthodontist, to help. This is especially helpful in the first week or two after your appliance is fitted. If the appliance rubs or causes any ulcers just roll up a small piece of wax, dry the area that’s causing the sore spot with a tissue and push some wax over it. To help the healing process rinse your mouth out with warm salty water as well.
