Braces today are pretty tough. They can withstand a lot. Think about how much food you eat; your braces can handle most of it. On occasion, though, damage can occur to your braces.
One of the most common things we hear about is braces bracket breaking. That’s where the bracket either becomes loose or completely pops off the tooth.
The first thing we tell our patients at Woodhill Dental Specialties is DON’T PANIC. It’s not that bad, we promise! We can take care of your broken bracket if you’re in the Dallas, TX, or Rockwall, TX, areas.
How soon do you fix your braces bracket? That’s a great question and one we’re happy to answer.
Before going any further, let’s define what we mean by “bracket” because braces have several parts. Traditional metal braces have bands, brackets, archwires, and elastics. The bands go on the back molars if brackets won’t work, such as if the molars are not fully erupted.
Otherwise, orthodontists use special brackets on the back molars with a tube attached. The ends of the archwires go into these tubes to help hold the archwire in place.
The rest of the teeth have regular brackets. These brackets are bonded to your teeth with a special dental bonding agent or dental cement. With traditional braces, the archwire fits in a groove in the front of the bracket. The archwire is placed against the bracket by elastics — tiny rubber bands that fit around the bracket.
Self-ligating braces are different. Our ligating brackets have a tiny door that goes over the archwire and holds it in place without the elastics. This means there is less friction as the archwire moves as it straightens your teeth.
It also means you don’t have to come into the office as often. Those elastic bands on traditional braces must be changed every 4-6 weeks. No bands, no need to change them!
Our dental bonding agent to attach brackets to your teeth is very strong. It’s made to hold those brackets on your teeth for the entire length of your treatment, an average of 12-24 months! However, there may be an occasion or two when you have a loose bracket or a braces bracket falls off the tooth completely. With self-ligating braces, that little door holding the archwire in place will stay shut, so the floating bracket won’t go anywhere.
There are several reasons why a bracket is loose or detached. It could be that the bonding agent didn’t set correctly. It’s rare, but it can happen.
We have to reapply the bonding agent and reattach the bracket. Your orthodontist can easily fix broken braces brackets.
Injuries from accidents or playing sports can also cause a bracket to pop off or become loose. While protecting your mouth from accidents is difficult, you can protect it during sports. We encourage you to wear a mouthguard to protect your braces whenever you play a contact sport or one involving objects flying toward you, from football to lacrosse.
The most common reason brackets become loose is because the patient eats something they’re not supposed to eat. Hard, sticky, or chewy foods can damage your braces!
We’re talking about tortilla chips, chewing gum, bagels, hard candy, taffy, and popcorn. Hard, raw vegetables and fruits that require a front bite (like apples and pears) can also damage your braces. So be careful what you eat with braces!
It probably won’t hurt if you pop a bracket off your tooth. The nerves of your tooth are deep inside the tooth so that the tooth won’t hurt. Often, people don’t even realize they have a loose or popped bracket right away. It’s not until they feel it moving along the archwire or see it in a mirror that they realize what’s happened.
The bracket wraps around the archwire, so it will stay on the archwire if it pops off your tooth. You may see it slide up and down the archwire or even spin. It will need to be fixed, but until it is, you can hold it in place with a piece of orthodontic wax, also known as dental or braces wax.
If you break your bracket, the first thing to do is not to panic. It’s not as serious an issue as you may think, but it should be addressed immediately. Call your orthodontist to schedule an appointment to get the bracket fixed.
How long can you go with a loose bracket? We’ll get you in as soon as possible but don’t worry if it takes a day or two. If the bracket is off for a day or two, it shouldn’t set your orthodontic treatment back. We don’t want it to be off for an extended period of time.
If your braces bracket fell off or is loose, the first step is to ensure the bracket is still secure. Keep it safe and return it to us if it comes off completely. Use dental wax to keep a loose bracket in place.
Once you come in, we’ll repair or replace the bracket. If the bracket is damaged, we’ll remove the bracket and replace it. We’ll temporarily remove your archwire and back the bracket onto your tooth. Once we’re certain it’s well-bonded to the tooth, we’ll replace your archwire, and you’ll be good to go!
It may seem scary to swallow a braces bracket. It’s rare for that to happen, as it usually stays attached to the archwire. The metal bracket is nontoxic and won’t hurt you. It should pass through your system normally.
Braces are very durable, but accidents can happen. It’s not uncommon, and Woodhill Dental Specialties can easily handle it. If you have a problem with your braces, schedule an appointment with us. We can get your braces bracket fixed, and back to straightening your teeth in no time!
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