Ortho Emergencies
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s orthodontic appliances, please email photos to ortho@apdsmile.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
If your child has experienced major trauma/injury to the mouth, infection or swelling, or the pain cannot be managed at home , please reach out to us..
Common Issues
Use the quick links below to explore common challenges with braces and simple at-home solutions.
Broken Brackets
Broken brackets are often caused by eating hard/crunchy/sticky foods. If you notice one of your brackets has come off, here are some ways to troubleshoot at home:
For a loose back bracket, you can use tweezers to slide the bracket off the wire.
If the wire is poking you in the back, you can use clean nail clippers or wire cutters to trim it.
PLEASE AVOID EATING HARD/STICKY/CRUNCHY FOODS WITH YOUR BRACES!!!
AFTER 3 BROKEN BRACKETS, ADDITIONAL FEES WILL BE INCURRED AT $25 PER BROKEN BRACKET.
Color Tie Came Off
If you notice one of your color ties is loose or has come off, this is NOT an emergency and can be addressed at your next scheduled appointment*.
You can use tweezers to remove the loose color tie from the braces.
*If you notice that the tooth without the tie is moving away from the wire or appears to be moving in the wrong direction, please let us know during business hours that something is broken so we can set up time to address this.
Discomfort
If your child is in discomfort after their appointment, we suggest giving them Ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil) . If there is an infection, swelling, or the pain cannot be managed at home , please call us.
To treat irritation on the gums/lips, we recommend warm salt-water rinses as well as applying wax along the area of irritation.
If there is an ulcer, you can apply a topical anesthetic such as Orabase or Glyoxide (OTC) as needed.
Photo courtesy of the Canadian Association of Orthodontics
Wire Issues
To address wire issues, it is important to FIRST identify what part of your braces is bothering you:
Steel Tie
Steel ties are thin, stainless steel wires used to fasten the arch-wire to the brackets. The end of the tie is always twisted and pushed away from the gums/lips.
If the steel tie is bothering you, use the eraser-end of a pencil to push the pokey part away from your gums/lips.
Hook
A Hook (or Koby tie) is a type of steel tie that has a hook attachment.
If the hook is causing irritation, you can apply wax on the area of irritation. You can also use tweezers or the eraser-end of a pencil to reposition the hook.
Arch Wire
The arch-wire is the wire that spans across your braces.
- For a pokey arch-wire, first dry the area.
- Then, you can apply a small ball of wax to the back of the wire where the wire is poking.
- If you notice the wire has come out from your back bracket, you can use tweezers to try and put the wire back in the slot of the back bracket.
- If this is too difficult, you can trim the wire next to the closest bracket using clean nail clippers or wire cutters and then call us during business hours to set up some time to repair this.
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First visit for your baby or orthodontics for your teenager, we're ready. Request an appointment at any of our four Bay Area locations.