What To Do With A Loose Bracket

Bracket Has Come Undone

Patients wearing orthodontic braces may find that one of the brackets holding the archwire in place has become undone. This can occur if the dental adherent on the tooth surface lets go and becomes loose. A loose bracket can injure your mouth or gums, and is in general unsightly and uncomfortable to wear. Aside from this, treatment will be delayed, as the tooth in question is not receiving the torque or push that has been assigned for it, and this may change the outcome of the treatment if left on its own for an extended period of time.

But seeing the orthodontist to get an appointment may become difficult, and you may have to wait several days, possibly even weeks before you can see the orthodontist who made the braces initially. This means you will need some sort of solution to hold you over until the time comes for the orthodontist to look at it. The orthodontist should still look at it, as soon as possible, as only a trained medical professional can help fix this problem permanently, and the solutions offered here are merely a temporary hold over, like most at home remedies. 

What To Do

First, locate the moving bracket. Position it to the place on the tooth surface it was located on (usually this will be the center of the tooth). You should be able to tell where it was from the adhesive still present on the tooth. It is important that you do not try and re-attach the bracket, as an improperly attached bracket may cause delays in the treatment, and if you adhere it to strongly to the teeth and it needs to be re-adhered by the orthodontist, removing the bracket may cause damage to the enamel on your teeth. So just position the bracket in the center and cover it with wax. This should keep it from cutting your mouth or tongue and gums and keep the bracket safe until it can be reattached.

If it is still cutting your gums and mouth, you can try wrapping it in something soft, like tissue or cellophane. There are individual tiny plastic containers that can hold brackets available, and you can ask your dentist where to buy them, but most medical supplies stores carry them. Simply take the bracket, position it to the center and cover it in the little plastic bubble. After this the bracket cannot move and will not be able to interact with the gums or mouth anymore. 

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