Those dental braces in your mouth represent a considerable feat of engineering. They're strong enough to contort your teeth into alignment, and they do this without causing pain (though they can take a bit of getting used to at first). While mishaps and breakages are rare, they can still happen. What should you do if one of the bands, brackets or wires that make up your braces were to break or even fall off?
Protecting Your Mouth
Even though a broken component of your dental braces is an inconvenience, it's not an emergency. Having said that, it can make daily life uncomfortable for you, so you need to schedule an urgent repair appointment with your orthodontist. If the breakage should expose any sharp edges or pointed ends, these are unlikely to pierce the lining of your cheeks or your gums, but they can cause irritation. Anyone who has braces should have dental wax on standby. Simply apply a small amount of dental wax to the sharp edge or pointed end to prevent damage to your mouth.
A Loose Section
You should not attempt to remove any component of your braces that has become loose. You might damage the overall unit. If a piece has broken and yet still remained in place, then you should leave it alone and see your orthodontist as soon as possible. Exercise extreme caution when eating, and chew using the unaffected side of your mouth. A loose section can easily fall off, so you want to minimise the chances of this happening.
A Detached Section
If a section were to fall off, whether it's one of the bands, brackets or wires, be very careful not to swallow it. Gently extract it from your mouth and put it to one side. Wrap it in a piece of tissue paper and place it inside a small container. Bring it with you to your repair appointment. The piece can help your dentist to determine the reason for the breakage in the first place, and if the component is still intact, it can often be reattached.
Broken braces are compromised braces, and this means that they are no longer as efficient as they need to be when it comes to the realignment of your teeth. Even when the damage is minor, you need to have it repaired as soon as your dentist is able to see you. Contact a dentist who works with braces in your area today.
