What emergencies may arise during orthodontic treatment?

General Soreness

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth. Teeth may also be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. Stick to a soft diet until your teeth do not hurt to chew. If the tenderness is severe, take Paracetamol or a similar analgesic taken for headaches or a comparable pain. Aspirin and Ibuprofen (Nurofen) actually slow the tooth movement, so it is not advisable to use them frequently while wearing braces.

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 a quarter of a cup warm water and rinse your mouth vigorously.

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.

Lastly, some orthodontic wires become softer and reduce the pressure on teeth with cold foods and drinks. It may be advised to drink cold water, sugar-free cold drinks and cold foods low in sugar to help reduce the pain.

Loose Brace or Band

Braces are usually attached to the centre of each tooth using a special adhesive. Usual causes of brackets becoming knocked off involve eating foods you are not meant to or by suffering an impact to the mouth. If your brace 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 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 module. If you cannot put the wire into a comfortable position and covering the end with wax doesn't resolve the concern, use a clean small fingernail clipper to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened. Place wax on the end of the wire if it is still sharp.

Poking Wire

Sometimes the end of a wire can work itself out of place, cause irritation and discomfort. If this happens, and you cannot carefully push the wire safely against the tooth with a pencil eraser, then use relief wax to cover the wire.

In a situation where the wire cannot be moved and is causing considerable discomfort or pain and seeing the orthodontist immediately is not an option. You may clip the protruding section of the wire off and apply relief wax, however, please take care.

Swallowed a piece of the appliance

In some cases, patients have accidently swallowed a piece of their appliance. If this happens to you, the best thing to do is to remain calm.

The swallowed piece will usually pass naturally. However, if you appear to be coughing excessively, the piece may be stuck in your airway. If this appears to be the case, you require emergency care and must be taken to an urgent care facility to have it located via x-ray and removed.

Please also notify your orthodontist immediately if this occurs.

Ulcers

Ulcers can occur when something rubs against the skin in your mouth. Use wax over the bracket or appliance for relief. We also recommend the use of warm salty water mouth rinse. The ulcer should heal within the week and the skin in the area should now be tough enough without needing the wax. If you have a persistent ulcer, further investigation may be required with your orthodontist or general practitioner doctor.

Trauma

If you experience trauma to the face, mouth or teeth due to a sports or other injury, it is important to contact your general dentist as soon as possible for emergency care. If you are unable to access your general dentist, please notify our clinic and we will try accommodate and coordinate emergency care.

Just a reminder, it is always best to wear a mouth guard, even if you are wearing orthodontic appliances, to prevent unnecessary trauma to the mouth and teeth. Please discuss with our clinic if you require a mouth guard.

Food caught between teeth

This is not an emergency and should be handled by carefully flossing with a toothpick, dental floss or water pick.

Anything else?

After alleviating your discomfort, it is very important that you 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 to your treatment plan and extended treatment times. If any of these issues occur to you, with the exception of trapped food, you should contact our office and arrange an appointment, by clicking here.

However, if the issue is serious and requires immediate attention, visit an emergency care clinic and contact Gippsland Orthodontics immediately.