Experiencing Sensitivity?
As your teeth start moving to the correct position with braces or Invisalign it is normal to have some soreness and sensitivity. To help alleviate soreness, you can rinse your mouth with a warm salt-water solution or take over-the-counter Tylenol. For the first week or so, your braces may feel like they are rubbing or irritating your mouth – if so simply place some dental wax to cover the problem (wax is available at our office or any of your favorite drugstores).
How to Use Dental Wax
Break off a small amount of wax and roll it in your fingers until it warms and softens. Then firmly press the softened wax against the area of the braces that is protruding or broken. Once placed, it will cover sharp edges and stabilize loose pieces of wire or bracket.
Broken Brace
Accidents happen.
Sometimes a tooth simply needs a different preparation for an even stronger bond of the bracket. If a bracket is loose in the very back, it will often slide right off the wire (PLEASE SAVE THE BRACE) or if it’s in the front of your mouth will simply slide on the wire. Place wax on it for comfort, don’t let it ruin your Saturday night – it’s OK.
Simply give us a call to schedule a special appointment to get you fixed up OR if your appointment is in a few days please call us ahead of time so we can make sure to accommodate all the time we need to get you all fixed up.
Pokey Wires
A “Pokey wire” is when the soft flexible wire in the back has fallen out of tube/brace in back and begins to “poke” or irritate you. Sometimes this is caused because your teeth are moving so well.
If this happens, don’t worry!
Try and use tweezers to place back in or simply push in so it’s comfortable and add some wax. If poking is in the very back and you can’t reach with tweezers, try and use a pencil eraser to push from back forward and this often eliminates the pokey wire. If irritation continues, give us a call and we will get you in to help adjust. Please know we are always here for you. We even have an after office hours on-call pager to get in touch with your needs as soon as possible.
Loose Teeth & Bands
If your teeth begin feeling a little loose, don’t worry; this is normal! Your braces must first loosen your teeth in order to move them into the right position. Once your teeth have been repositioned, they will no longer be loose.
The wires and bands on your braces may come loose. If this happens, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can check and repair your appliance. If any piece of your appliance comes off, be sure to save it and bring it to the office with you.
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.