Your entire orthodontics treatment relies on various appliances and techniques that will help correctly align teeth and provide that healthy beautiful smile you’re after. Still, when so many things are involved in this, sometimes, it can go wrong.
From wires poking your teeth to brackets becoming loose, you’re likely to face small “accidents” in your orthodontics treatment.
First of all let’s see what could go wrong and of course, what you can do in these situations:
Broken – loose brackets – as we know, the brackets are those nifty “jewels” that are glued onto your teeth. They allow the archwire to get “caught” into them and thus aligning and rotating teeth. How can it happen? Well, simple, if you’d like to know: you just bite something that’s tougher or chew something hard and the brackets can either break or, way often, just become loose.
They “stuck” to the teeth with a special composite resin, that’s similar to the one you’re having in your fillings. Well, while the “cement” is pretty strong, sometimes it can break. Your bracket will no longer “stick” to the tooth and it might poke your cheek a bit, depending on its placement.
Horror! What do I do now?
Well, just relax. I’m sure your ortho already told you it can happen (mine said it’s possible to have my “appliances” get broken), so there’s no need to panic. Try to minimize the problem and solve it. If your bracket fell off (I had one at the back of my arch, the first one, so I actually spat it out), try not to swallow it. If it’s poking your cheek, use that wonderful discovery called orthodontic wax, you should have this on you and it’s great. Call your orthodontist to let him/her know about the “accident” and schedule an appointment.
Yes, it’s that simple.
Protruding wires are the worst, since they poke you in the mouth and can cause various sores. Try to “stick’ them back with an eraser end or anything that’s NOT YOUR FINGER. Do not push it with your bare hands, it’s actually pretty sharp. DO NOT CUT IT either. Your orthodontist has a special utensil to cut these small wires, it’s keeping that small end from poking your mouth. So, don’t use ‘regular’ clippers, you’ll do a lot more harm.
Again, time to call your orthodontist and share your new event. Schedule a meeting and you’ll be safe.
Anything else that’s coming off or gets broken can also be solved, even if you lost your Invisalign trays.
Do not panic, that’s the first thing. Call your orthodontist to talk about the “accident” and see what can be done. Don’t swallow anything, don’t go guerrilla on them and cut wires or similar things. These small mishaps are NORMAL. Yes, some patients might be lucky to not come to this, but it can happen and most likely it will. These will not affect your treatment in the long run, so there’s no need to panic. Do have your small wax box with you, it can really solve a lot of issues.