Orthodontic emergencies can strike when patients and their families least expect – maybe a sports injury has led to a dangerously loose bracket, or maybe there’s a big piece of food caught under the wires that’s causing severe pain. At Glenpool Braces, Dr. Georgy is happy to lend a helping hand when you need it most for these inconvenient and oftentimes worrisome situations. Please don’t hesitate to contact us in Glenpool, OK to schedule an emergency appointment. In many cases, our team can fit you in on the same day as your first call!
What constitutes an orthodontic emergency in the first place, though? Here are some of the most common cases we treat and some helpful tips for how to best manage them at home until you’re able to safely reach help:
Over time, chewing on particularly hard foods can lead to breakage regarding orthodontic brackets. First of all: are you experiencing serious pain? If the answer is “no,” you won’t need to hurry in to Glenpool Braces right away for emergency treatment. Instead, you can leave the bracket in place and cover it with wax in the meantime for optimal comfort. If the bracket has completely come out of the mouth, contact Dr. Georgy’s office and plan to bring it with you to our location for further inspection.
Every once in a while, your orthodontic wire can start to stick out from the brackets and irritate the soft issue in the cheeks. If this is happening regularly, a good technique for stopping the pain fast is to take a pencil eraser or a swab of cotton and gently nudge the wire back into its original position. Additionally, applying a small ball of wax to the end of the wire can offer some much-needed temporary relief until our team is able to take a look. If you have clean nail clippers and some rubbing alcohol, you can even try snipping the wire yourself as a last resort – but please don’t hesitate to contact our team first if you’re struggling to resolve the issue alone.
In the first few days after braces are put into place over a patient’s smile, general soreness and discomfort is extremely common. We encourage you to stick to a diet of soft foods and take painkillers (such as Advil or Tylenol) as needed to reduce these effects until your mouth becomes accustomed to the new addition. If the pain is overly aggressive or continues after a full week of wearing braces has gone by, contact Dr. Georgy right away for further assistance.
If you’ve experienced a severe facial injury that may have damaged your braces, Dr. Georgy will want to assess their condition as soon as possible and provide any new/adjusted components as needed to keep your treatment plan on the right track. If any bones are broken or you’re bleeding profusely, please go to your nearest emergency room first.