Congratulations! You have just taken a giant step to having the best smile ever. While you are in braces, if you should have a problem, try these ‘home remedies’ first and if these don’t give you any relief, please call us Monday thru Friday at (706) 650-0468. After hours and on the weekends, call us at (706) 836-0818 and leave a message, your call will be returned as soon as possible.
As a general rule, always keep the wax that we give you nearby. Our wax is your ‘First-Aid Kit’. You can usually place wax on anything that is causing discomfort and it will feel better until you can get in to see us. If you go out of town and forget to bring your wax, most drugstores carry wax. Listed below are some things that you might try before calling the office.
WIRE STICKING – As your teeth move, they slide along the wire and sometimes the wire seems to ‘get longer’. Try using a pair of fingernail clippers (or cuticle clippers) to cut the end of the wire as close to the back of the bracket as possible. After you clip the end, if you feel a sharp edge, place a small ball of wax on the end of the wire and call us on the next business day and we will get you in to adjust the wire.
- Your first wires are the most likely to cause a problem – sometimes they just shift from one side causing it to lengthen on the other side. Try feeling the very back of the wire with your fingernail and try to slide it back around and center the wire. If this doesn’t work, place some wax on the back of the wire and call our office for an appointment.
- Occasionally we will add a wire to hook your rubber bands to. Sometimes brushing can cause these small wires to move out of place. If this wire should stick you, try taking a pencil eraser and press the wire back toward your gum tissue to ‘tuck’ it back into place.
LOOSE BRACES – If one of your braces should come loose, this is NOT an emergency. If the bracket is not hurting you or cutting you, it is perfectly fine to wait until the next available business day to have it repaired. One exception being, if you are scheduled to have your braces removed at the next appointment, then you would want to call us on the next business day so we can repair the loose bracket. As a general rule, loose braces do not hurt, they are just annoying. Place a small ball of wax over the loose bracket to keep it from moving around.
- As stated in your contract, after the 6th loose bracket you may be charged a $10.00 repair fee for each loose bracket.
- If you follow the list of things not to eat that was given you on the day you had your braces put on, loose braces shouldn’t be a problem.
- If a loose bracket actually comes out of your mouth, please save it and bring it with you when you come in for your appointment.
PAIN – There are a couple of things that may cause discomfort while you are wearing your braces. After each adjustment, you may experience some soreness for a couple of days. Generally Tylenol or Advil (or whatever you take for a headache) will take care of the soreness.
- If your teeth are sore, try taking a warm wash cloth and fold it in half, place it between your top and bottom teeth and gently bite and relax your teeth for about 10 minutes. Try to cover the biting surface of all of your teeth. Do this a couple of times a day and this will ease the soreness.
- If your child is wearing an ‘Expansion Appliance’ in the roof of his/her mouth that you will adjust or turn, he/she may experience a tightness across the bridge of their nose when you turn the appliance, this will go away in five to ten minutes.
- Mouth sores or ‘ulcers’ can occur for many reasons. If you have a virus or a cold, many times an ulcer will appear even if you are not wearing braces. If you get an ulcer because of your braces rubbing on a certain spot, take a small ball of wax and place it over the bracket that is rubbing. Do this for a couple of days and this will give your cheek and lips a chance to heal and toughen up. Rinsing with warm salt water will help speed the healing. You may also use any of the over the counter medicines to place on the ulcer. If you do not get any relief after a week, give us a call and we will ask Dr. David take a look at it for you.
- IF YOU SHOULD EVER SUSTAIN AN INJURY TO YOUR MOUTH, JAWS OR TEETH WHILE IN TREATMENT WITH CARTER ORTHODONTICS, CALL OUR OFFICE IMMEDIATELY FOR INSTRUCTIONS. If you cannot reach our office, call your general dentist or go to the emergency room.
APPLIANCES – We have a number of appliances that are used by our office. Each appliance has its own set of instructions. If you have any questions about your appliance or its instructions, please call us and we will be glad to help you with that.
- As with any appliance, if any part of it comes loose or breaks, save the piece and bring it with you when you come in to see us. Call our office on the next business day and schedule an appointment to come in and have your appliance repaired.
- If the entire appliance breaks and you can take it out, do so and call us to schedule an appointment to have it put back in. Please save the appliance and bring it with you.
- If your appliance requires a ‘key’ to turn it and you lose the key, just stop by the office and we will give you a new one. No appointment necessary.
- If your appliance has any rough spots that are irritating your mouth, place some wax on the spot that is rough and call us on the next business day and we will get you in to check it for you.
SWOLLEN OR PUFFY GUM TISSUE – Swollen gums are caused by not properly brushing and cleaning your teeth. Not only do you need to brush your teeth and braces, but your gum tissue is equally important. You should spend a minimum of 3 minutes brushing after you eat. Flossing between your teeth helps remove any particles of food that may have gotten under your gum tissue. When your gum tissue is swollen, you will notice that your gums bleed when you brush, don’t let that stop you from brushing, the bleeding is part of them shrinking back down to normal size. KEEP BRUSHING. Rinsing with warm salt water helps speed up the healing process. When a patient comes in with swollen gum tissue, we will usually go over the brushing instructions with them.
LOOSE TEETH - It is not at all unusual for your teeth to feel loose when you are wearing braces and we are moving them from one position to another. When your teeth are where they are supposed to be and your braces are removed, your retainers are worn to hold your teeth in their new position and they will tighten back up.
After-hours emergencies
Dr. David is dedicated to providing quality service to his patients - this includes emergencies after business hours. Should you have an emergency after hours or during the weekend, please call 706-836-0818 and one of our staff members will call you back as soon as possible.