Emergency Care

Occasionally, some patients will experience an injury to the mouth during treatment. Dental emergencies while wearing braces or other orthodontic appliances generally fall into two categories.

DIRECT INJURIES TO THE MOUTH AND TEETH
Following a direct injury to your mouth or teeth, whether undergoing orthodontic care or not, immediately ice the injured area and you should contact your regular dentist as soon as possible. Usually a radiograph (x-ray) of the involved tooth or teeth is needed to determine the extent of injury. If a tooth has been displaced, knocked out, or fractured, it is best to contact your family dentist first since we may not have the necessary materials or anesthesia required to treat these injuries. If the appliances are dislodged or displaced, we will need to replace or adjust the appliances as soon as possible, depending upon the comfort level of the patient.

EMERGENCIES RELATED TO ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCES
Sometimes, appliances might be broken or bent during your orthodontic care. If there are any disturbances, such as loose bands, loose brackets, broken or poking wires, please call our office for an appointment during patient hours. For your convenience and the convenience of scheduled patients, it is not possible to handle emergencies on a walk in basis. In the meantime, here are some helpful hints to remedy some of the problems you may encounter until our office can see you.

If a tie wire is irritating your mouth, cover it with bees wax or tuck it under the arch wire with a blunt object like a pencil eraser or Q-tip.
A loose band or bracket can generally be left in place until seen in our office. Call our office, during patient hours, when you notice a loose band or bracket. We will schedule you to reattach the loose appliance, if indicated.

A broken or poking archwire can often be bent in with a pencil erasure or cut with nail clippers. Call our office, during patient hours, if you do not feel the problem has been resolved properly.

A bent headgear facebow, or removable appliance that is not fitting well, is not to be worn until it can be properly adjusted in our office. Call the office as soon as possible, during patient hours, to schedule an appointment to have the facebow or removable appliance adjusted.

After Clinic Hours
If an orthodontic emergency arises where the patient is in pain after hours, please leave a message at 519-751- 7800.  Please wait until the entire message plays to leave a message.   In the event, no one is immediately available after 5 PM, please contact the office the following morning or go to the nearest emergency room, if indicated.