Dental Trends of the Future: Leaving the Past Behind

Traditional braces have several key components, which include brackets and wires. If you are getting traditional braces soon, you should realize that you may experiencing some problems with them after your orthodontist puts them on your teeth. Here are some of the common problems people with braces experience and ways you should handle the situation if the problems arise.

Loose brackets

When the orthodontist places braces on your teeth, he or she will cement or glue the brackets to your teeth. This is one of the first and main steps of braces, but these brackets can come loose. If you experience a loose bracket, it could also fall off and just be dangling in your mouth. If this happens, you will need to visit your orthodontist soon to have it fixed. Until you can get in to see your orthodontist, you can try to position the bracket in a way that it is somewhat stuck in place, and you can try to do this with your fingers or tweezers.

You can avoid breaking brackets by eating the foods you are supposed to eat and avoiding the ones the dentist tells you not to eat. For example, you should not eat hard, crunchy, or chewy foods while wearing braces.

Poking wires

Another problem you might experience is a poking wire. After the orthodontist puts the brackets on, he or she will insert a wire all the way through them from one side of your mouth to the other. The problem with this is that the wire will sometimes move out of place. When this happens, it could start poking you in the cheek, and this can be very uncomfortable. You can try to fix this by trying to push the wire back into the brackets. If you cannot move it, you could place a piece of wax on the end to stop it from poking your cheek.

Trapped food

Another problem you might experience with your braces is trapped food. If you get a piece of food trapped in your brackets or wires, you can try to remove it with a toothpick, but you should be very careful as you do this to avoid injuring yourself or breaking a bracket or wire.  

If you experience any of these problems and cannot correct it on your own, contact your orthodontic clinic right away. They can tell you how to handle the problem or will schedule a visit for you to see an orthodontist.