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Planning and Preparing for Dental Procedures: Your Questions Answered


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Planning and Preparing for Dental Procedures: Your Questions Answered

Making decisions about your smile can be confusing. Should you have a tooth pulled or get a root canal? Should you get adult braces or stick with a retainer? Should you use at-home whitening remedies or have your teeth professionally whitened? If questions like these are keeping you up at night, you've come to the right place. I used to stress out over routine dental procedures, and as a result, I did loads of research on everything dental-related. To help others, I'm using this blog as a place to collect, review and share what I've learned through the years. I hope you can use the information here to help you plan and prepare for your next dental appointment.

What to Do When Your Dental Braces Develop Problems

Braces are appliances that are prescribed by healthcare professionals like dentists in order to move teeth into better positions. However, these braces can develop problems such as having the wires broken. This article discusses what you can do when such problems develop:

When the Bracket Becomes Loose

A bracket is a ceramic or metal piece attached to a tooth using composite resin (a tooth colored mixture of plastic and glass used as fillings for teeth). The bracket can loosen when you eat something that is sticky, causing you to struggle to remove the food substance from the surface of your dental brace.

You can know that the bracket has become loose when you feel it poking your tongue, gum or cheek. When this happens, put some of the wax (that your dentist gave you) on the bracket so that it stops poking you.

When a Wire Breaks

Wires link one dental brace to another in order to keep those braces in their correct position relative to each other. If this connecting wire breaks, do not try to cut out that broken piece. Instead, use the rubber end of a pencil to push that broken piece of wire into a more comfortable position. Alternatively, put some orthodontic wax (if you still have what the dentist gave you) on the end of that broken wire so that it does not hurt you.

When a Band Becomes Loose

A band is a metal ring that is cemented onto hind teeth in order to keep them in place. In case this band becomes loose or it falls out of your mouth, see your dentist immediately. This is because any attempt to put it back to its place in your mouth may cause serious injuries to your gums or surrounding tissues.

When a Spacer Becomes Loose

Before brackets are inserted, spacers (rubber rings) are placed between teeth in order to create the space into which brackets will fit. If this spacer becomes loose, do not go into a panic. This is because that looseness means that the space that the orthodontist wanted has now formed so you can proceed with the next steps of your dental treatment.

As you can see, there is something you can do when an issue arises with your dental braces. You should therefore have no fear about having braces inserted. However, you need to alert your orthodontist about what has happened so that he or she can give you professional advice about that situation. 

To learn more, contact a company like Sunshine Coast Orthodontics with any questions you have.