Emergencies during braces
Last time, we showed you how to take care of common braces problems at home. Chewing braces-friendly foods prevents many of the problems with broken braces. But sometimes, accidents happen.
Today’s email is about orthodontic emergencies.
We want to help you be prepared in the event of trauma to your teeth while you have braces.
Prevention
Whether you enjoy riding dirt bikes, playing football or practicing karate, protection and safety to the face are important. We recommend wearing a mouthguard when doing any sport or activity that could result in a facial injury.
One mouthguard that we recommend is the “Shock Doctor for Braces”. This non-boil mouth guard is specially made for braces. Find it at a sports store like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sports Authority, or Amazon.
Injuries to teeth
If a tooth gets bumped, usually no immediate treatment is needed.
If a tooth gets knocked loose, but is attached to the wire and looks normal, then call our office.
If a tooth gets hit hard, is loose, and looks out of place then you need to get immediate help to position the tooth back in the arch. Call our office, the after hours emergency number, your dentist or visit the hospital.
If the tooth gets bumped and falls out, rinse the area with saline for no more than 10 seconds and gently reinsert the tooth in the socket. Place it so that it looks straight, then call our office, the after hours emergency number, your dentist or visit the hospital.
If a tooth gets a small chip, call your dentist. Your dentist may be able to do a filling to fix the chip.
If a tooth gets a large fracture, call your dentist. Save the piece of tooth that fractured off. Your dentist may be able to reattach the fractured portion of the tooth. The dentist may also splint the teeth together.
Injuries to lips and jaws
If you get a direct injury to the face, we recommend getting checked out with your local hospital. The rich blood supply in the face/mouth area means an injury may bleed heavier than other areas.
We hope that you never suffer an emergency when you are in braces. But know that we are here to help in any way we can.
Next up, getting cleanings at the dentist during braces.