Braces emergencies
Problems with braces are almost never dangerous, but they can be genuinely uncomfortable. Find what has happened and we will talk you through settling it, and tell you honestly whether it needs a visit.
5.0on Google
Tick marks the 10:00am same-day cutoff
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:15pm
Call during opening hours and we will fit you in as soon as we can. Outside them, the steps below settle most problems.
These nine cover almost everything that goes wrong with braces, plates and retainers. Pick the closest match.
Arrow keys move through the list
A wire has shifted and is catching the inside of your cheek or gum.
Wax will usually hold this for a few days. Call us and we'll trim or retie it at your next visit, sooner if it keeps working loose.
A bracket has come away from the tooth, or snapped off the wire.
Call us. A loose bracket stops that tooth moving, so treatment stalls until it is refitted. Before 10:00am on a weekday gives you the best chance of a same-day slot.
Your retainer is missing, cracked, or no longer seating properly.
Treat this as the time-sensitive one. Call us and we'll arrange a replacement or a new scan.
A removable plate or an expander has cracked, bent or come loose.
Call us before 10:00am on a weekday and we'll aim to look at it that day. Time out of a plate can add to your overall treatment.
A metal band around a back tooth has loosened or come off.
Call us to have it recemented. A band that is loose but still in place can trap food underneath, so it is worth doing promptly.
A bracket or wire is rubbing, or an ulcer has come up where it sits.
Not usually needed. Mouths toughen up over the first few weeks. Call us if it has not started settling after about a week, or if the same spot keeps flaring.
An Invisalign or clear aligner tray has split or lost a piece.
Call us so a replacement can be ordered. Staying in your previous tray keeps your teeth where they are while we sort it out.
One of the small rubber rings between your back teeth has fallen out.
Often no visit needed. Separators frequently drop out once they have done their job, particularly in the day or two before bands go on. Let us know so we can check before your next appointment.
A knock to the mouth or face, a broken tooth, or a tooth pushed out of place.
See a dentist or the emergency department first. Once you have been seen, call us so we can check the appliance and adjust your plan.
Most of what goes wrong sits in the first two groups. The third is rare, and it is the one where you should not wait for us.
Uncomfortable, but it will keep until we are open. Wax and warm salty water do most of the work.
Something has broken. It is not dangerous, but treatment stalls until it is fixed, so the sooner we know the better.
This is beyond orthodontics. Get seen straight away, then call us afterwards so we can check your appliance.
Most orthodontic problems are far easier to sit out when you have these on hand. Ask us for wax at any appointment and we will top you up.
The single most useful thing you can own mid-treatment. It covers anything that rubs.
Your phone torch is fine. Most of the trouble is right at the back where you cannot see.
For guiding a wire back into place. Gentle pressure only, never force.
Sterilised in boiling water, and only as a last resort on a wire you truly cannot settle.
Or any small container with a lid. Far more retainers are lost in serviettes than are ever broken.
Half a teaspoon in a cup of warm water, rinsed a few times a day, settles most sore spots.
For general soreness, whatever you would normally take for a headache is usually enough. Follow the packet, and check with your pharmacist if you take other medication.
Most emergency repairs are quick. Knowing how it runs takes some of the worry out of the drive over.
Reception will ask what has broken and how it feels. That tells us how long to set aside. Call before 10:00am on a weekday and we will do our best to see you the same day.
Ring rather than email. On the day it happens, the phone is faster than anything else.
Rebonding a bracket, recementing a band or trimming a wire is usually one short visit. You will not need a full adjustment appointment for most repairs.
If the bracket came away completely, keep it and bring it in with you.
We will check where the repair leaves your treatment, and move your next appointment if the timing needs to change.
Ask what it means for your finish date. We would rather you knew than wondered.
What patients ask us most when something has broken. If yours is not here, call us and ask.
Genuine emergencies are rare. Almost everything that goes wrong with braces is uncomfortable rather than dangerous, and will keep until the practice opens. Anything involving a facial injury, a knocked out tooth, spreading swelling or bleeding that will not stop is a dental or medical emergency, and should go to a dentist or an emergency department first.
Often, yes. Call us before 10:00am on a weekday and we will do our best to fit you in that day. It depends on what has happened and how full the book already is, so call as early as you can.
The practice is open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:15pm. Outside those hours, leave us a message and we will call you back on the next business day. The steps on this page will get most people comfortable overnight. If it is a genuine medical emergency, go to your nearest emergency department.
Sometimes, depending on what needs doing and what your treatment plan already covers. Reception will talk you through any cost when you call, so there are no surprises when you arrive.
Teeth can begin to drift within a few days, and the change is often noticeable within a couple of weeks. Call us as soon as we open. If you still have an older retainer that fits, wear it until we can see you.
No. You do not need a referral to see us, whether or not you are already a patient here. If you are partway through treatment with another orthodontist, call them first, since they hold your treatment plan and records.
Call the practice and describe what has happened. Reception will tell you whether it can wait, and book you in if it cannot.
