Life with Braces
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Emergency Care
True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur, we are available around the clock. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experience severe discomfort or when you have a 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 your next scheduled appointment. When working with your braces, you need to know the names of the parts so that you can identify which part is broken or out of place. You can find this information under the Ortho Directory. 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 the appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions of your treatment plan.
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General Soreness
When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressure for three to five days. Placing Orabase in the affected area may help: this can be found in any pharmacy. If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or whatever you normally take for a headache.
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 braces to lessen this. We'll show you how!
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Headgear
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.
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Loose Appliance
If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part of your appliance.
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Loose Bracket
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.
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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.
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Poking Wire
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort.
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