Emergency Care

Poking Wire

Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort.

Loose wire

Using a tweezer, try to put your wire back into place. If doing this and using 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 your discomfort continues, place wax on it.

Headgear does not fit

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 as it's worn more, so be sure you're getting in the prescribed hours.

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. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater 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 a pharmacy. If the tenderness is severe, take 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!

Emergency Info

First, DON'T PANIC!

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. If you are experiencing a wire irritation, try moving the wire away from the irritated area with tweezers, the end of a spoon or pencil eraser. After alleviating your discomfort, it is 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.

It is common to lose a separator or two during treatment. Just call the office during regular business hours to see if it needs to be replaced.

True orthodontic emergencies are very rare and most can be resolved at home, by yourself , but when they do occur we are available to you. When working with your appliances, it is very helpful if you know the names of the parts of your appliances so you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. 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 help you.