Emergencies

Broken Bracket

Don't worry, you'll be eating popcorn and snacking on potato chips again in no time! However, before you can start enjoying some of the treats you love, you will need to take special care to avoid any foods that could damage your new appliances. Breaking a bracket can result in the increase of your time in braces and will incur a cost throughout treatment if more than 2 brackets are broken.

Food is the biggest cause of broken brackets, mostly those that are sticky, chewy, hard, or can otherwise be harmful to the appliance. Here are some foods to stay away from during your treatment:

  • Chewy foods – bagels, licorice

  • Crunchy foods – popcorn, chips, ice

  • Sticky foods – caramel candies, chewing gum

  • Hard foods – nuts, hard candies

  • Foods that require biting into –  corn on the cob, apples, carrots 

If you do ever break a bracket during treatment, please try to hold onto that bracket till your appointment so that we may be able to put it back on the tooth. Call our office, and we will schedule you an appointment as soon as we can to put the bracket back on the tooth. 

Pokey Wire

The wires and bands on your braces may come loose or shift during treatment. If this happens, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can check and repair your appliance. You can temporarily fix the loose wire by using the back of a spoon or the eraser end of a pencil to carefully and gently push the wire back into place. If the loose wire is causing irritation to your lips or cheeks, put wax or a wet cotton ball over the broken wire to relieve the pain.

Broken or Lost Retainer

Retainers are a crucial part of your orthodontic retention, they hold your teeth in place after removing braces. Therefore, if your retainer is lost or broken it is very important that you call the office immediately. We will schedule you an appointment to take a new impression of your teeth and make a new retainer to hold your teeth in the place they are in. A charge will be incurred if the retainer is broken or lost, costs may vary depending on the type of retainer made.