Emergency Care

emergency care image
True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur, we are available to you. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experience severe pain or when you have a painful appliance problem that you cannot take care of yourself. We will be able to schedule an appointment to resolve the problem.

You might be surprised to learn that you may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you schedule an appointment with our office. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so that you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. After alleviating your discomfort, calling our office as soon as possible is very important due to scheduling the approriate time to repair the problem. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions in your treatment plan.

WEEKEND EMERGENCY CELL

If you are in extreme discomfort and need to be seen over the weekend, you may contact us at 812-881-9162.

The following solutions may help you relieve your discomfort:

Poking Wire

Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort.

Loose Bracket or Band

If your bracket or band is still attached to the wire, you should leave it in place and put wax on it. If the wire comes out entirely, wrap the bracket with a tissue.

Loose Wire

Using tweezers, try to place your wire back into place. If doing this and using wax does not help, as a last resort, use a small fingernail clipper to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened. If your discomfort continues, place wax on it.

Loose Appliance

If your appliance is poking you, place wax on the offending part of your appliance.

General Soreness

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth, and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for 3 to 5 days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt water mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. Placing Orabase on the affected area may also help; this can be found in your local pharmacy. If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain.

The lips, cheeks, and tongue may also become irritated for 1 to 2 weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We will show you how!

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