We are here to help
Always call our office when you experience severe pain or an appliance problem you can't take care of yourself. We'll schedule an appointment to resolve the problem. Don’t let it linger. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may disrupt your treatment plan.
In the meantime, you can likely mitigate many problems yourself until you can get to our office. Here’s a few pro tips:
At Home Care
For 3 to 5 days after getting braces, you may experience general soreness in your mouth, and your teeth may feel sensitive to biting. Stick to a soft diet until chewing feels normal.
The lips, cheeks, and tongue may become irritated for one to two weeks as they adjust to a new posture and the surface of the braces. We’ll show you how to place wax on your braces to minimize tenderness.
Rinsing your mouth with warm salt water can relieve irritated gums and sore spots: Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of warm water and rinse your mouth vigorously, then spit out.
If the tenderness is severe, take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. Try to avoid aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and naproxen sodium (Naprosyn, Anaprox) because these medications actually slow tooth movement.
Headgear discomfort
Sometimes discomfort is caused by not wearing the headgear as instructed, so double check the instructions Dr. Zwickel gave you. If the facebow (metal piece) is bent, please call our office for assistance. The more you wear headgear, the less it should hurt. Be sure you get in the prescribed number of hours.
Place wax on any loose piece of your appliance that is poking you. If a loose bracket or band is still attached to the wire, leave it in place and put wax on it if needed. If a loose piece can come off easily, save it in a plastic bag or envelope to bring with you to your next appointment.
Using a pencil eraser, push the poking wire down or place wax on it. If it’s loose, try to put the wire back into place using a clean pair of tweezers or needle-nosed pliers. It’s okay to tie a piece of floss around the bracket in place of a missing colored o-ring. As a last resort—if you can’t slide the wire into a comfortable position and covering the end with wax doesn't help—use a small fingernail clipper to clip the wire behind the last tooth to which it is securely fastened. Place wax on the sharp end and call us for a repair.