As a parent, you’ve been in this situation many times before: Your child is out playing, and then suddenly they run up to you with a worried look on their face. “What happened?” you ask as sweetly as you can. You notice they are covering their mouth, so when you gently take their hand away, you see that they’ve damaged their braces. One of the brackets seems to be out of place. What should you do in this situation? Can you just leave it alone, or should you call your children’s orthodontist in Westerville immediately? Today, we’ll help walk you through this common scenario.
How Braces Become Damaged
At Shirck Orthodontics, we treat a lot of child patients, and as any parent will tell you, children tend to have accidents. Most of the time they are no big deal, but occasionally, it’s their braces that pay the price.
In many cases, braces are usually damaged by one of two things: an accidental collision or eating sticky/hard foods. Children have a lot of energy and sometimes not enough coordination to go with it, so accidents while playing can often knock a bracket or wire out of place. Also, certain sticky/hard foods can break the bonding material on the brackets when chewed, and all it takes is one bite before your child knows that something is wrong.
How Do I Know if a Bracket is Broken?
First of all, take a look at the bracket. Is it in the same place from the last time you saw it, i.e. right over a tooth? Is it correctly oriented? Is the bracket loose? You can test this last one by softly touching it. Be sure to look at the surrounding wires as well and ask your child if they are feeling any discomfort.
If the bracket has come off of the tooth but is still on the wire, that’s a clear sign that the bracket is broken. If the bracket has completely come off, try to find it. In either of these situations, you can use dental wax to comfort the area until you can see your orthodontist.
What To Do About A Broken Bracket
If the bracket has come off of the tooth or is quite loose, your next call should definitely be to your children’s orthodontist. It’s necessary to repair your child’s braces as quickly as possible so their treatment time isn’t affected.
After you call your orthodontist, they’ll ask you if your child is in any pain. If not, they may be able to wait to repair their braces. However, if your child is feeling something uncomfortable, they’ll work to see them as quickly as possible. Once you are at your orthodontist’s office, they’ll examine your child’s braces, and they’ll put the bracket back into place.
We’ll Take Care Of You
If you and your child find yourselves dealing with a broken bracket, it’s okay! Accidents happen all the time, and we’ll always be ready to help you. We’ll just discuss what caused the problem so we can avoid it in the future. The last thing you and your child need is a lecture from us, so you can trust your orthodontist in 43082 for judgement-free care!
In any case, if your child damages their braces, be sure to give us a call as quickly as you can so we can make sure their smile stays on track! If you have any questions about how to deal with other orthodontic emergencies, please feel free to give us a call today!