Emergency Orthodontic Care in Pickering, ON
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 can’t take care of yourself. We’ll 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 in Pickering, ON. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so you can identify what part is broken or out of place. After alleviating your discomfort, it is very important that you still call our office as soon as possible to schedule a time to repair the problem. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period may result in disruptions in your treatment plan.
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 three to five days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in eight ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. Placing Orabase on the affected area may help; this can be found in a 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 one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We’ll show you how!
Headgear
Sometimes headgear discomfort is caused by not wearing the headgear as instructed by your orthodontist. Please refer to the instructions provided by your orthodontist. If the face bow is bent, please call our office for assistance. Surprisingly, the headgear may hurt less as it’s worn more, so be sure you’re getting in the prescribed hours.
Major Emergencies
There are only a few true orthodontic emergencies:
Major Emergencies
​ Infection or swelling of the mouth, face, gums
​ Trauma or injury to the teeth, face, mouth
​ Severe unmanageable pain of the teeth, face, mouth, gums
In any of these situations, seek help from your General Dentist as soon as possible. They are trained to handle a wide range of dental problems and are equipped to treat you immediately. If your General Dentist is not available, go to the Emergency Room. Afterwards, your orthodontic treatment plan can be adjusted as needed.
Minor Troubles
Loose Band or Bracket
If you notice that one of your brackets or bands has become loose and is still attached to the wire, you should leave it in place and put wax on it to provide stability. If the wire comes out entirely, wrap the bracket with a tissue.
Loose or Poking Wire
Using tweezers, try to put your loose wire back into place and add wax for stability. If doing this and using wax doesn’t help, as a last resort use a small cuticle cutter to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened. If your discomfort continues, place wax on it and call our office.
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or into its original position until it is no longer irritating the surrounding tissue. Place wax on it to alleviate the discomfort.
Loose Brace
Forsus Rubbing
Forsus Spring Separating
Ling Ret Flossing
RPE Turning
