ProviderRelieve Pain & Deal With Braces & Clear Aligner Issues
True orthodontic emergencies are rare but from time to time, issues are bound to arise while straightening your smile. Often, a quick fix on the spot can help you stay pain-free until you can get to our office.
Painful rubbing and poking, loose pieces of braces and wires that have slipped out of place can all be temporarily resolved with a little know-how.
After alleviating your discomfort, it is very important that you still call our office to schedule a time for us to correct the issue properly. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions to your treatment plan.
See below for some easy tips and tricks to help relieve general discomfort and temporarily resolve appliance issues until you can see your orthodontist for care.
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
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. Stick to a soft diet until your teeth do not hurt to chew.
Irritated gums and other sore spots can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt-water 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®) or whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. Aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®), and Naproxen sodium (Naprosyn®, Anaprox®) actually slow the tooth movement, so it is not advisable to use them frequently while wearing braces.
The lips, cheeks, and tongue may become irritated for one to two weeks as they learn a new posture and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We'll show you how!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 your wire back into place. It is okay to use a piece of floss to tie the wire into place: tie the floss around the bracket in place of the missing coloured o-ring. 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, give us a call 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 you can put in your next aligner early. Which option is best will depend on how long you had worn the lost aligner. If you had only just started wearing the lost aligner go back to the previous one. If you had worn the lost aligner for over a week, it may be best to move to the next one.