Managing Minor Braces & Aligner Issues at Home
Orthodontic emergencies are rare, but minor issues can happen from time to time during treatment.
Loose brackets, poking wires, or irritation from your appliance can usually be handled with simple at-home solutions to keep you comfortable.
However, it’s still important to contact our office even if you’ve managed the issue, so Dr. Waldman can make sure everything is still on track.
Delaying a repair may impact your overall progress. Below are some easy tips from Dr. Waldman to help you manage common problems until you’re able to come in.
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.
General Soreness
Your mouth may feel sore after you first get braces installed or adjusted. Additionally, your teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. Both of these symptoms are normal. Stick to a soft diet until it does not hurt your teeth when you chew.
Irritated gums and other sore spots can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater 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®). It is not advisable to use Aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®), and Naproxen sodium (Naprosyn®, Anaprox®) too often during orthodontic treatment as they actually slow tooth movement.
The lips, cheeks, and tongue may become irritated for one to two weeks after you first get your braces as they get used to them. You can apply dental wax to your braces to reduce friction.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 needed for comfort. If the bracket or band can be removed easily, place it in an envelope and save it to bring to your next appointment.
Loose Wire
Using a pair of tweezers or needle-nosed pliers, try to put the wire back into place. You can also tie a piece of floss around the bracket in place of the missing colored o-ring or use floss to tie the wire into place.
If you cannot put the wire into a comfortable position and covering the end with 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 the end of the wire is still sharp, place wax on it.
Loose Appliance
If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part.
Poking Wire
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it so that it is no longer poking.
Lost or Damaged Aligner
If an aligner is lost or damaged, call us 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 put in your next aligner early.
Which option is best will depend on how long you wore the lost aligner. If you had only just started wearing the lost aligner, go back to the previous one. If you wore the lost aligner for over a week, it may be best to move to the next one.