True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur we are available to you. 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 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 you schedule an appointment with our office. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. 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 your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions in your treatment plan.

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 tenderness is severe, take Advil or Tylenol or 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.

Headgear & Elastics

Sometimes headgear and elastic discomfort is caused by not wearing the headgear or elastics as instructed by your orthodontist. Please refer to the instructions provided by your orthodontist. Please call our office for assistance. Surprisingly, the headgear and elastics may hurt less as they are worn more, so be sure you're getting in the prescribed hours.

Loose Appliance

If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part of your appliance.

Loose Bracket

If your bracket or band becomes loose and is still attached to the wire, you should leave it in place and put wax on it. If the bracket comes off your wire completely, wrap the bracket with a tissue and bring it into your appointment.

Loose Wire

Using a tweezer, try to put your wire back into place. If doing this 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 and call the office.

Poking Wire

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