What to do when your braces mis-behave!

Sometimes your braces can misbehave. Wires can poke, braces can come loose or get lost, and at times you may experience some minor pain. When these situations occur, give our office a call on our next business day to schedule a repair appointment. Typically these appointments are not emergencies, but should be handled in a relatively timely fashion. Here are some helpful tips in how to deal with these types of situations.

Broken Brackets

If the last bracket falls off and is not attached to the wire, you may wait until your next appointment to have it repaired. If you lose a bracket that is attached to your wire, and your visit is within two weeks, you may wait until your next appointment to have it repaired. Please give our office a call to notify us that you will need a repair so we may allot additional time if needed. If your next scheduled appointment is further than two weeks away, contact our office to schedule a repair appointment. 

Pokey Wires

A wire poking your cheek is usually caused by one of the following situations:

1. The last brace has come off. This may leave a portion of wire poking the back of your mouth. This is remedied by placing wax on the end of the wire. If the wire continues to poke the cheek, use fingernail clippers to trim the long wire directly behind the last brace that is still glued on to the tooth.
2. The wire may be slightly long. This can be caused by tooth movement or the wire sliding around from the other side. This can be remedied the same as situation #1.
3. The wire may have bent, allowing it to slip out of the last brace. Your wire is very flexible. The wire can be grabbed with a pair of tweezers, bent, and slid back into the bracket solving your problem. If you are not successful in replacing the wire in the bracket, use the same solution in situation #1. 

Lost Retainers

Retainers play a major role in keep our teeth straight and they are important to wear for the rest of your life. Without wearing retainers, our teeth can relapse requiring an additional round of orthodontic treatment which is time consuming and costly. If you have lost or broken your retainer, contact us about possible replacement options.

If you are experiencing a true orthodontic emergency that requires immediate attention such as extreme pain, infection or injury, please contact Dr. Pellegrini directly on our after-hours emergency line at 206-579-0531