Most orthodontic issues are minor and can be managed at home until your next scheduled visit. Dental Group Orthodontics has outlined common concerns below, listed from least to most severe, along with guidance for handling each one.
What Comfort Care Means
Below is a list of the most common issues patients in orthodontic treatment may experience during orthodontic treatment.
Most discomfort issues we see are a result of inadequate oral hygiene care causing swelling of the gingival tissues with sore and bleeding gums as a result.
If you have a sore spot around your teeth, bleeding gums, or large gums, more aggressive brushing will resolve the issue in a few days.
Most discomfort issues can be relieved at home or at the next business day in the office.
If an aligner attachment comes off, please call our office to have the attachment replaced as soon as possible during regular office hours.
If you misplace your aligners, move on to the next package of aligners in your sequence and call our office for an appointment to evaluate if we need to replace the lost aligners.
Poor fitting aligners: usually caused by inadequate wear and usually requires a rescan and start over from current tooth positions
Ligatures are the small colored elastics or wire ties that hold the arch wire in place against each bracket. They can come loose or fall off occasionally. This rarely qualifies as an urgent issue. If a ligature comes off:
Use a clean tweezer to reposition it if it is still attached but has shifted, only if this can be done easily and without discomfort
Cover any irritation with orthodontic wax in the meantime
Call our office to have the issue looked at during regular office hours.
This will not necessitate an after-office hours visit.
A bracket, band, or section of wire can occasionally come loose due to eating something too hard or sticky. or simply from normal wear over time. If this happens:
Cover any sharp or poking area with orthodontic wax for comfort
Pokey wire: Wires can protrude out the back of the last tooth in the arch and poke a cheek. If possible the wire can be clipped with a fingernail clipper or small wire cutter at home. Call our office for an appointment during regular office hours to have it looked at and resolved.
Call the office to schedule a repair appointment, since a loose bracket or band can slow treatment progress if left unaddressed for too long
While a loose bracket is rarely an urgent issue, it should be addressed within a reasonable timeframe rather than left until a regularly scheduled adjustment several weeks away. Please call our office to schedule a comfort care appointment during regular office hours.
If a TAD becomes loose, discontinue elastic wear to the TAD and call our office to have it looked at during regular office hours. The TAD may need to be repositioned to continue treatment progress.
New Patients and Emergency Appointments are Welcome!
