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Orthodontic Emergencies — Plano, TX

Immediate Care When an Orthodontic Crisis Occurs

If you’ve become accustomed to wearing your traditional braces or clear aligners, you’re likely doing everything you can to avoid a potential problem. But even if you are careful when eating, cleaning, or engaging in physical activity, accidents can happen, resulting in orthodontic emergencies. At Willow Bend Orthodontics of Plano, our team is here to deliver timely care when you need it most. Whether you are dealing with a loose braces bracket, broken aligners, oral sores, or even stuck debris, we can provide helpful tips and immediate care to get you back on your feet and well on your way to a healthier smile.  Contact us today  to find out what we can do to help you in your time of need.

Why Choose Willow Bend Orthodontics of Plano for Emergency Orthodontic Care?

  • Dr. Jones is a board-certified orthodontist with years of experience
  • Quick & timely treatment, often with same-day emergency appointments
  • Improved comfort and patient safety

What to Do in an Orthodontic Emergency

Girl seeing orthodontist in Plano for emergency

If something goes wrong with your braces or clear aligners, it can be easy to panic. But we encourage you to keep a cool head! You can feel a little more relaxed in these stressful situations knowing that you have an experienced Plano emergency orthodontist in your corner. Should you or a loved one encounter an orthodontic emergency, follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Call us right away. As soon as you can, give us a call. Our experienced team will make room in our schedule to see you for a same-day emergency appointment and walk you through what to do until you can reach our office.
  • Step 2: See Dr. Jones for an exam. When you arrive, Dr. Jones will see you right away. She’ll evaluate your situation and provide any necessary pain relief. Then, she’ll review her findings with you and explain what she recommends moving forward with.
  • Step 3: Get the orthodontic care you need. Once you’ve agreed to a treatment plan, we’ll get to work. Many orthodontic emergencies can be delt with right away, such as most broken wires or loose brackets. In rarer cases, we’ll need to see you for a follow-up appointment or refer you to your general dentist for a specific dental treatment. Whatever situation you face, we’ll do everything we can to help you regain a happy, healthy smile.

The Most Common Orthodontic Emergencies

Whether you wear braces or not, seeking the help of a dental professional when a mouth-related injury occurs is essential. During orthodontic treatment, a sudden accident can result in potential delays and more serious harm to your oral cavity. Because braces require an investment in time and money, forgoing necessary care for an orthodontic emergency will only cause more issues over time. Even if the problem is minor, it’s best to let Dr. Jones or Dr. Hanson review the situation and make the appropriate call when it comes to treatment.

How to Prevent Orthodontic Emergencies

A young female allowing the orthodontist to look inside her mouth to ensure everything looks fine and her braces are intact

Since orthodontic emergencies are somewhat rare, there’s a chance that you’ll make it through your entire teeth-straightening journey without experiencing one. The best way to ensure that happens is by adopting healthy habits, like maintaining a good oral hygiene regimen at home. Keep reading to learn more of the most effective ways to avoid orthodontic emergencies!

Visit Your Dentist and Orthodontist Regularly

Throughout your teeth-straightening journey, you’ll come to our office for routine visits. At this time, we will adjust your braces and check each bracket and wire. Of course, it’s equally as important that you visit your dentist every six months for a checkup and cleaning. That way, they can detect problems like tooth decay in the early stages while also helping to prevent others from developing!

Maintain Good Oral Hygiene At Home

Your morning and nighttime oral hygiene regimen is crucial for numerous reasons, including that they help prevent cavities and gum disease. We recommend using a proxy brush to clean around your brackets and underneath your wire since these specialized toothbrushes can prevent food particles and bacteria from adhering to the small crevices of your appliances and teeth. You should also floss between your teeth after eating, as food can easily become stuck, causing an increased risk for tooth decay as well as potential discomfort.

Bonus tip: Clean your retainer with a soft-bristled toothbrush and water to remove bacteria and food particles. It can also be helpful to soak your retainer in a denture cleaner!

Stick to a Nutritious Diet

Stay away from hard, crunchy, or sticky foods, as these can damage your brackets, wires, and teeth. A few examples include tortilla chips, thin pizza crust, raw nuts, and popcorn. Whether it is causing a metal appliance to pop out of place or chipping a tooth, it’s best to avoid these at all costs. Instead, fill your plate with smile-friendly foods, like oatmeal and plain yogurt.

Wear a Mouthguard

Wearing a mouthguard while playing any type of sport or engaging in physical activity is vital. Otherwise, you would wind up with a loose bracket, broken wire, or even a knocked-out tooth! So, make sure you are wearing one, even if you participate in a non-contact sport, like skateboarding or surfing.

Important note: You should also wear one if you are prone to teeth grinding or clenching (bruxism).

Use Tools to Open Packages, Not Your Teeth

Remember, your teeth should not be used to remove a bottle cap, tear into plastic wrapping, hold your keys, or bite your nails. These are just a few of the many ways that you can damage your teeth and your braces, warranting an immediate visit to our Plano orthodontic office.

Orthodontic Emergency FAQs

A young girl with long, red hair, smiling and showing off her metal fixtures after having a loose braces bracket in Plano fixed

At Willow Bend Orthodontics of Plano, Dr. Jones, Dr. Hanson and her team understand you probably have many questions about the potential for injuries to occur while wearing braces. Fortunately, we are here to ensure you have all the information you need to feel more confident should you experience an unexpected accident during your orthodontic treatment. Below is a list of common questions asked by our patients. If you do not see yours listed and would like to schedule an appointment with our orthodontist,  contact us today !

When should an orthodontic emergency warrant a visit to the ER?

It should come as a welcomed relief that most orthodontic emergencies can be treated in-house. Dr. Jones and Dr. Hanson are fully aware and equipped to provide immediate assistance should an injury occur. However, certain cases may require you to first visit your local emergency room. Continuous bleeding from the mouth, increased swelling, and a fractured jaw are all reasons to bypass our office and get to an ER first. Once your symptoms are addressed, you can then come to see us for additional treatment.

What should I do if an emergency occurs while I’m out of town?

You may feel panicked should an accident occur while on vacation or while away on business but knowing what to do will help you feel more confident and comfortable. Should you be out of town and an orthodontic emergency occur, you’ll need to find a local orthodontist who can administer immediate help. You’ll also want to call our office and tell us about your situation. Based on the information received, we can determine if you should see us when you return from your trip.

Will insurance cover the cost of an orthodontic emergency?

Every dental insurance plan is different, so you’ll need to review your policy to determine if you will be expected to pay out of pocket for this type of visit. If you have a broken or lost retainer or appliance, there’s a good chance you will receive a bill for this particular instance. If you have an insurance plan that offers orthodontic coverage, you’ll need to be mindful of your annual maximum, as it is unlikely your insurer will pay for anything over the allotted amount provided. Fortunately, our dental team at Willow Bend Orthodontics of Plano can work on your behalf to help you get the answers you need to make the right decision for your smile. While you should never put off emergency care out of fear you cannot afford it, you can trust that we will work with you to identify ways to keep your treatment affordable.

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Toothache

Is a Toothache an Emergency?: Some tooth pain is to be expected during orthodontic treatment. It’s a natural consequence of the braces/aligners constantly exerting pressure on the teeth to move them. You might notice some aching and soreness whenever you bite down, particularly for the first few days after you get a new orthodontic appliance or have braces adjusted. That said, some tooth pain does indicate an emergency. You should make an appointment right away if your toothache:

  • Does not go away within a day or two.
  • Gets more severe as time passes.
  • Is affecting a tooth that looks darker than the rest.
  • Causes sharp pain when you bite down.

How You Should Handle Toothaches: Give our office a call if your tooth pain persists. Depending on the symptoms you describe, we may schedule an appointment to examine your mouth for ourselves, or we might tell you to call your regular dentist. While you’re waiting for your appointment times, you can take pain relievers to manage the pain. An ice pack or cold compress can be used to ease any swelling. It’s a good idea to rinse with saltwater to kill any bacteria that might cause a potential infection. If there seems to be anything stuck between your teeth, use dental floss to remove it.

Loose Bracket or Wire

Is a Loose Bracket or Wire an Emergency?: Loose brackets and wires usually don’t cause any pain, so you don’t necessarily need immediate care. You should, however, make an appointment to have the problem fixed as soon as possible. The longer you ignore the issue, the more likely it is that it will disrupt your treatment.  We’ll reattach your loose bracket or wire as quickly as possible and take steps to ensure it stays in place so that you don’t have to worry about any changes to your treatment timeline.

How You Should Handle a Loose Bracket or Wire: If the bracket or wire is still attached to your mouth somewhat, try to avoid touching it as much as possible. You can use orthodontic wax to hold it in place until it can be properly reattached and restabilized. In some cases, the bracket or wire might fall off altogether, in which case you should do your best to locate it and store it in a safe container so that you can bring it with you to your emergency appointment.

Broken Bracket or Wire

Is a Broken Bracket or Wire an Emergency?: A broken bracket or wire is a more serious problem than one that is merely loose. The broken part might start poking your soft tissues, which can cause quite a bit of pain and might eventually lead to an injury. This is not the sort of problem you should try to deal with on your own; you could end up damaging your braces or your smile even further. Call us right away when you realize that you have a broken appliance.

How You Should Handle a Broken Bracket or Wire: Collect any pieces that have broken off and bring them with you to your appointment so that we can assess the damage. Sometimes a broken bracket or wire can have a sharp edge; cover such spots with a bit of dental wax or sugarless gum for your comfort and protection.

Poking Wire

Is a Poking or Protruding Wire an Emergency? Even if the wire is just slightly out of position, we recommend giving us a call. Once we have a better understanding of what happened and how urgent the situation is, we will determine if you need to come to our office right away.

How You Should Handle A Poking or Protruding Wire Priority number one is covering the sharp edge with dental wax and coming in for an appointment with our Plano orthodontist. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t do anything that could make this orthodontic emergency worse leading up to your appointment, like eating something crunchy.

Mouth Sores

Are Mouth Sores or Irritation an Emergency? Both of these are to be expected with braces, especially when you first get them. The good news is that your lips, tongue, and gums will develop calluses with time, making mouth sores and irritation more and more infrequent. 

How You Should Handle Mouth Sores or Irritation If you currently have a mouth sore, then rinse with warm saltwater periodically and do your best to keep your mouth clean – this will help it heal. Using dental wax to cover the sharp edges of your braces can also help prevent any from developing and alleviate soft tissue irritation.

Broken Ligature

Is a Broken Ligature an Emergency? Ligatures are the rubber bands that hold your wires in place. As you know, they serve an important role in the teeth-straightening process, so a broken one is absolutely an orthodontic emergency. In other words, don’t wait – call our Plano orthodontist ASAP.

How You Should Handle a Broken Ligature We encourage patients to stick to soft foods and avoid touching the area with their tongue or fingers. Aside from that, we recommend doing what you can to avoid more broken ligatures in the future, like quitting unhealthy dental habits and abiding by the dietary restrictions.

Soft Tissue Cuts

Is a Cut Lip, Cheek, or Tongue an Emergency? Although soft tissue injuries can usually be handled at home, you should head to the ER or call 911 if the cut results in uncontrollable bleeding or any other potentially life-threatening symptoms (i.e., extreme facial swelling, trouble swallowing, difficulty breathing).

How You Should Handle a Cut Lip, Cheek, or Tongue If the cut is relatively small, then there’s a good chance that you won’t have to go to the ER. In that case, we recommend going to the sink and using clean, cool water to rinse your mouth. Then, use gauze or a damp washcloth to apply pressure to the area until the bleeding stops (which should be less than 10 minutes).

Something Stuck Between Teeth

Is having something stuck between the teeth an emergency? Everyone has gotten food stuck between their teeth at some point in time. It’s a common issue, especially among patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. If you can’t dislodge the item, don’t hesitate to give us a call for help.

How you should handle something stuck between your teeth: Use a dental pick or floss to dislodge the object. Just be sure to be incredibly gentle and avoid damaging your brackets or wires. You can also try rinsing your mouth with lukewarm salt water to help dislodge the object. If you’re unable to remove the item, contact our office to schedule an urgent appointment.

Broken/Lost Aligner or Retainer

Is a broken or lost aligner or retainer an emergency? Rest assured – a broken or lost aligner isn’t usually considered an emergency. However, if you fail to seek help, you risk getting off track and delaying your orthodontic treatment. That’s why it’s incredibly important to call our office within a few days of losing or breaking your oral appliance.

How you should handle a broken or lost aligner or retainer: Don’t wear your broken aligner or retainer! It can move your teeth into the wrong positions. If it’s gone missing, your first step should be to look for it. Check every area you think it could be at, like countertops, between couch cushions, in the trash, in your purse, and your pockets. When you give us a call to schedule your appointment, we’ll help you determine whether or not it’s okay to move on to the next set of aligners or if you need to have it replaced.

Loose Teeth

Are loose teeth an emergency? It’s completely normal for your teeth to feel slightly loose throughout your orthodontic treatment. However, if your teeth feel extremely loose, something may be wrong. It could indicate gum disease or another underlying issue. Don’t hesitate to give us a call so we can identify the root cause and bring you peace of mind.

How you should handle loose teeth: Do not play or overuse your loose teeth as it could make the situation worsen. Instead, practice good oral hygiene to ward off harmful bacteria that could be weakening the tissue. If you’re worried about your loose teeth, call our office, and schedule an appointment. We’ll take X-rays to monitor the health of your jawbone and determine if any further action needs to be taken (i.e., gum disease treatment or bone grafting).

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