Troubleshooting:
Braces
In order to help us identify any difficulties you are having it is important that you can assist us in identifying the cause of the problem by using the following list to identify the main parts of your braces.
We have also included what is likely to cause an issue with each component and what could happen if the problem is not corrected.
Please notify as soon as possible if you notice anything you are unsure about.
Brackets and molar tubes
Brackets and molar tubes are the attachments that are glued to your teeth. They allows us to join your teeth to the main arch-wire and allow us to control the movement of your teeth during treatment.
Breaking a bracket or molar tube usually occurs if you:
Eat something hard, or put something hard such as a pen or pop-top bottle in your mouth,
Have a lip and tongue piercing, or
Receive a traumatic injury such as a knock or blow to your mouth.
Sometimes a broken bracket or molar tube goes unnoticed until something softer is eaten that causes the broken attachment to move on the tooth or slide along the main wire.
Breaking a bracket or molar tube from a tooth means that the tooth is no longer attached to your braces. This means that the tooth will no longer move or may start to move in the wrong direction.
You should call us if:
You notice something is broken
You see a tooth moving in the wrong direction
The main wire digs into your cheeks or gums
Arch-wires
These are the main wires that go from one side of your mouth to the other.
Bending or breaking an arch-wire usually occurs from:
Eating something hard or putting something hard like a pop-top bottle in your mouth,
Traumatic injury such as knock to your mouth,
Playing with your braces.
Breaking an arch-wire may result in:
The wire digging into your lips and cheeks,
Teeth moving in the wrong direction,
You not being able to wear your elastics,
An extended treatment time, or
A comprised treatment result
Bending a main wire is not as noticeable as a broken wire but will result in:
Teeth moving in the wrong direction,
You not being able to wear your elastics,
An extended treatment time, or
A comprised treatment result.
In the early stages of treatment, it is common for the arch wires to bypass teeth a the side of your mouth and to have a bend in the wire just in front of the molar tubes. If you can see such a bend on both sides and in the top and bottom wires, this is normal.
However, you need to contact us as soon as possible if you think you have a bent or broken arch-wire.
Modules
Modules are the small, coloured rubber rings that connect your brackets to the main arch-wire.
In the early stages of treatment, modules may be placed on the premolar teeth in such a way that the main arch-wire is not attached to these teeth. This is quite normal and is done so that the braces work just on the front teeth. This allows deep bites to be corrected more readily. If you are unsure, please contact us.
Losing a module can occur if:
You have been fiddling with your braces,
You have been brushing your teeth too hard or using a toothbrush that has medium or hard (rather than soft or extra soft) bristles, or
The modules have been changed recently, and have started to discolour, deteriorate, become loose and fall off.
Losing a module means the tooth is no longer connected to your braces, will stop moving or start moving in the wrong direction.
You should try and put it back on with a pair of tweezers and then call us.
Hooks
Hooks are most commonly near your upper and lower canines (eye teeth). Early in treatment these may be bent into the wire as a boot-hook, circle or small vertical loop.
Later in treatment they are joined or crimped to the wire as a small vertical “hook”. It is these small hooks that are crimped to the wire that may become loose and fall off.
On occasions this can happen for no apparent reason, but it is more likely to occur if you fiddle or play with your braces.
If you lose a hook or notice one is loose, then you:
May not be able to wear your elastics
Spaces may open up between your front teeth
If you lose a hook, you should call us so we can monitor it and find the best solution.
Ligatures
Ligatures are the small thin wires that are placed either to tie brackets to the main arch-wire or around the arch-wire hooks and are then twisted to tighten.
Losing a ligature wire will mean that either:
A tooth is no longer connected to the braces and is free to move in the wrong direction
Spaces will start to appear between your front teeth—resulting in a longer treatment time.
If this happens you should call us so we can monitor and manage the situation.
Elastics
It is important to always wash your hands before—and ideally after, handling your elastics.
Elastics are used to close spaces and adjust your bite. It is important to wear elastics as intended so that they balance the effect of the arch-wires and your teeth move in the way we want them to.
Not wearing your elastics means that:
Treatment will be delayed, and
We might not be able to achieve the same result – even if you start wearing your elastics properly again at a later date.
If you have any questions about the way your teeth are biting together then you should contact us for further advice. It is most important that your top front teeth should not end up biting on top of, or behind, your bottom front teeth.
Chain
Chain is a number of modules that are linked together. We use chain to close spaces between your teeth or hold spaces closed during treatment.
If a piece of chain breaks or splits any open spaces will not close and spaces that have been close may reopen.
You should call our rooms if this occurs so we can monitor your teeth and advise you what to do.
Buttons
These are small attachments that are usually placed on the inside of your teeth next to your tongue. They are not often needed but may be used to wear elastics to or place chain on - if we are having difficulty closing spaces.
Breaking a button is uncommon but can occur if you eat hard foods.
If you break a button off a tooth, it may prevent spaces between your teeth from closing, cause back teeth to rotate and stop you wearing your elastics properly.
You should call us if this occurs so we can monitor and manage what we need to do.
Closing coils
Closing coils are used when spaces between teeth are being difficult to close or when there is a large space to close – such as when permanent teeth have failed to form, or a large tooth has been extracted.
These are most likely to be lost or broken if you play or fiddle with your braces.
If this occurs, please call us so we can monitor and manage what needs to be done.
Springs
Springs are not often needed but are used either to move:
The roots of your teeth into better positions, or
Impacted teeth – such as impacted eye teeth, into your mouth.
All springs that move the roots of teeth need to be monitored regularly to ensure that the roots of these teeth don’t move too far.
Springs used to move impacted eye teeth into position also need to be monitored regularly to ensure that they are working as they were designed to. These springs may break or the ligature holding the spring to your tooth can also become loose or be lost. If this happens, the spring may well drop downwards towards you tongue and irritate it.
In these instances, you should:
Use a small pair of nail clippers to trim or remove the offending wire and
Call us immediately to assist you.