Comfort care
Pokey wire? Broken bracket? Here’s what to do right now.
Most of it can wait until your next visit, and most of it you can settle at home in a couple of minutes. Here’s how, and when to call us instead.
Most emergencies are already included in your treatment fee.
If you’ve had a facial injury, can’t breathe or swallow properly, or have significant swelling or bleeding, call 911 or go to the emergency room. Orthodontic problems are uncomfortable; they aren’t medical emergencies.
Comfort care visits.
Find yours.
A wire is poking my cheek
Push it flat with the eraser end of a pencil, or the back of a spoon. If it won’t move, cover the end with a pea-sized piece of orthodontic wax. If you’ve run out, a small ball of sugarless chewing gum works until you can get wax. Call us: only if it’s still catching after that.
A wire has come right out of the back bracket
Try to slide it back in with clean tweezers. If you can’t, cover the end with wax. Don’t cut a wire yourself unless it’s genuinely unbearable, and if you do, hold the end so it can’t be swallowed. Call us: yes, at the next opportunity, we’ll re-thread it.
A bracket came off
If it’s still on the wire, leave it there and cover it with wax so it doesn’t rub. If it’s come off completely, keep it and bring it in. Call us: yes, call so we can decide whether it needs an earlier visit.
A band or a bracket is loose
Same, wax over anything sharp, don’t pull at it. Call us: yes.
My teeth ache after an adjustment
Normal for two or three days. Soft food, cold water, and whatever you’d normally take for a headache. Call us: not usually. Call if it’s still bad after a week.
The inside of my lip is sore
Wax over whatever’s rubbing. Warm salt-water rinses, half a teaspoon in a glass of warm water, a few times a day. Call us: not usually.
My expander key won’t turn / I missed a turn
Don’t force it. Do the turn you missed as soon as you remember, then carry on as normal. Call us: yes, if it won’t turn at all.
I lost an aligner
Go back to your previous tray, or forward to the next one if you were nearly done with it. Don’t just leave them out. Call us: yes. We’ll sort a replacement.
I lost or broke my retainer
Don’t force a retainer that no longer fits. Call us: yes, and soon, teeth start moving within days.
Something was knocked in an accident
Sport or a fall: check the teeth themselves first. A tooth that’s been loosened, moved or knocked out is a matter for a dentist or the emergency room, not an orthodontic appointment, see the note above. Call us: call us afterwards so we can check the appliances.
Wax
Where to get more wax.
Come by either office and pick some up, no appointment, no charge. It’s also in most pharmacies, near the toothbrushes.
When to call, and which number
Call the office you go to.
San Luis Obispo 805.544.3223. Open Tuesday and Thursday, 8:30 to 4:30.
Arroyo Grande 805.489.4625. Open Monday and Wednesday, 8:30 to 4:30; front office Friday mornings.
If it’s a day that office is closed, try the other one. It’s the same practice and the same records.
The reassurance
You’re not going to get a bill for this.
Most emergencies are already included in your treatment fee. That’s how the fee is built here. Nobody should be sitting at home with a wire digging in because they’re worried about what a visit costs.
