You’re excited about getting your teeth straightened and flashing your perfect smile. Are you counting down the days until you get your braces taken off? Only to find that your braces have broken?
Now you’re worrying that it will delay your treatment and that your teeth will start to move back.
Or you’ve finished your treatment, and your retainer is maintaining all that hard work on your teeth. Until it breaks. And now you’re stressing about how long you have to get it fixed before your teeth start to relapse.
We can help make sure that your investment and treatment don’t go to waste.
Your braces have become loose
The glue attaching the braces to your teeth can weaken over time due to wear and tear, or eating certain types of foods. You need fast dental care if your braces have loosened because this can significantly delay your treatment.
Your archwire has snapped
You may be finding talking, chewing and swallowing difficult as the wire can snag the inside of your mouth.
To prevent injury, give our clinic a call anytime for an appointment.
What you can do at home
What to do if you’ve broken or lost a bracket
Book in to see our dentist or orthodontist as soon as you can. While this isn't strictly a dental emergency, a broken, loose or lost brackets can irritate your cheeks, gums and tongue.
They also lengthen your treatment time because while the bracket is not intact and fully functional, your braces cannot continue to straighten your teeth.
Damaged brackets can cause other treatment problems such as putting too much pressure on your other teeth.
As a temporary measure you can:
Broken your removable or permanent retainer?
Do not hesitate in seeking treatment because your teeth may relapse. If your teeth begin shifting back, you may need braces again to correct them.
If you have a removable retainer, don’t wear it if it no longer fits well. Of course, if you have a permanent retainer, you cannot remove it so it will probably become uncomfortable if it isn’t rebonded quickly.
Don’t attempt to fix the retainer yourself as it may cause further damage and may also damage your teeth. Do not use superglue.