True emergencies will be rare during your orthodontic care. Regardless of the situation, we are always here to make sure you are comfortable and cared for.
If you are in severe pain, we have comfort visit slots available for you to book from Tuesday to Friday to take care of the most common orthodontic emergencies. Please call the office to be scheduled.
In the event of a true emergency and you cannot get in contact with Dr. Marks, do not hesitate to call 911 or visit the emergency room.
Try to push in toward the tooth with a pencil eraser if possible. If not, you can clip the excess wire with fingernail clippers and place wax on the end to make sure it isn’t rough feeling on the cheek. If you cannot push it in or cut it, add a significant amount of wax to shield and protect your cheek. Give us a call the next business day to schedule to have it replaced.
Separator (Blue Chicken) Fell Out
Wait until the next business day and call the office to set up a time to have it replaced.
Missing Colored Otie
Place wax on the bracket to hold wire in place and contact the office the next business day.
Loose Bracket
Give us a call to schedule an appointment to re-cement the bracket. Brush around the area and eat gently. The bracket may slide around the wire, but that's normal.
Loose Appliance
If your expander comes loose, push it back up and eat gently. Then contact the office to schedule an appointment to have it recemented.
Forsus Spring and Rod Become Unattached
Sometimes this happens when yawning or opening the mouth really wide. To reattach, just compress the spring up toward the upper tooth, open very wide, and guide the lower metal rod into the center of the spring again, then bite down.
Broken or Lost retainers
If it is salvageable continue to wear it until you can contact us the next business day and get an appointment for a new set. It is important to not delay too long to have the teeth move.
Soreness from Braces
Generally about 4 hours after each reactivation you may feel pressure and it will likely last about 3-5 days.
This is usually handled with over the counter headache medicine like Tylenol or Motrin. Any gum discomfort can be relieved by rinsing with 1 teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of warm water. The cheeks, lips and tongue may become irritated for the first couple weeks as you get used to your appliances. During this time placing a small ball of wax on those areas will help.
