Broken Bracket or Poking Wire: Metal Braces Problems and When to Call the Orthodontist

It usually happens over something small. A crusty roll, a stray popcorn kernel, a pen cap chewed during a long meeting. There is a faint click, the tongue goes exploring, and there it is: a tiny metal square sliding freely along the wire like a bead on a string. For anyone new to metal braces, that moment can feel like the whole plan has come undone.

It has not. A detached bracket is one of the most ordinary events in orthodontic treatment, and knowing what to do about a broken bracket in the first hour matters more than how quickly you can get a chair. This article walks through the practical steps, explains what is really happening inside your mouth, separates the genuine red flags from the merely annoying, and gives you the questions worth asking when you do get the orthodontist on the phone.

One caution before we begin: every mouth and every treatment plan is different, so the timing of any repair is always a decision for your own orthodontic team.

Broken bracket: what to do in the first ten minutes

Start by finding out exactly what has happened. Stand in good light, pull your lip aside with a clean finger, and look. There are really only three possibilities, and each has a different next step.

The bracket may still be on the wire but no longer stuck to the tooth. You will feel it slide when you touch it with your tongue. The correct move here is to leave it where it is. The wire is threading through it and holding it in place, and pulling it off risks bending the wire or scratching the tooth surface. If it rattles or rubs, press a pea-sized piece of orthodontic wax over it; the wax works as a soft cushion between metal and cheek.

The bracket may have come off entirely, usually because the tiny elastic ring or metal tie holding it to the wire has gone too. Rinse the loose piece under water, dry it, and put it in a small container or a folded tissue. Bring it to your appointment. Some offices re-use the original bracket, others fit a fresh one; that is their call, not yours.

Or the bracket may be intact but a wire end is now free and prodding your cheek. That situation gets its own section below, because the fix is slightly different.

Whatever you find, telephone the orthodontic office rather than waiting for your next scheduled visit. Describe the tooth, whether the piece is loose or missing, and whether anything is sharp. The office will decide whether you are seen within days or whether the repair can safely fold into your next planned adjustment. That judgement depends on where you are in treatment, and only the team that knows your plan can make it.

What a bracket actually does, and why it comes loose

A bracket is a small metal attachment glued to the front of a tooth. Its job is simple: it is a handle. The archwire, the thin metal wire that runs along all the brackets, is the part doing the work, applying gentle, continuous pressure that slowly moves teeth through bone. The bracket just gives that wire something to hold on to.

Brackets are attached with a resin adhesive that is hardened, or cured, with a bright blue light. The bond has to survive a strange set of demands. It must be strong enough to resist months of chewing forces, yet weak enough that, at the end of treatment, the orthodontist can pop the bracket off without damaging enamel. Engineers call this a deliberate compromise. In everyday terms, it means the bond is designed to be the thing that gives way before the tooth does.

MedlinePlus describes the basic mechanism: braces put pressure on the teeth, and the bone around them gradually remodels to let the teeth shift. The Cleveland Clinic notes that the full course typically takes one to three years depending on the problem being corrected. Over that time a bracket meets thousands of bites. A hard or sticky food that concentrates force on one tooth, a knock during sport, grinding at night, or even a slightly damp tooth surface on the day of bonding can be enough to break the resin seal.

So when a bracket comes away, the tooth is almost always fine and the wire is almost always fine. What has failed is the glue, and glue is straightforward to replace. That is why orthodontists rarely sound alarmed on the phone. The frustrating part for you is not the repair itself; it is the small pause in movement for that one tooth while the handle is missing.

Is a broken bracket an emergency?

Almost never, in the medical sense. A bracket that has come unstuck is not bleeding, not infected and not causing structural harm. The NHS orthodontics guidance describes broken or loose parts as a routine reason to contact your orthodontist, in the same category as general soreness or lost elastic bands. It is a maintenance problem.

That said, orthodontic offices distinguish between an emergency and a problem that should not wait a month. A loose bracket on a front tooth two weeks into treatment is different from one on a back molar in the final stretch. A bracket loose enough to slide the full length of the wire may let the archwire drift and poke, which turns a comfort issue into a soft-tissue one.

There is also the small matter of the part that came off. If a bracket detaches completely, most people notice it in their mouth and spit it out. Occasionally it is swallowed. A single tiny bracket passing through the digestive tract is generally uneventful; the concern is aspiration, meaning the piece going toward the airway rather than the stomach. Coughing that will not settle, wheezing, chest discomfort or any breathing difficulty after a piece has gone missing is a genuine emergency and needs immediate medical care, not an orthodontic appointment.

A useful way to think about it: the bracket itself is never the emergency. What can be urgent is what the loose metal does next, whether that is lodging in a cheek, being inhaled, or coinciding with a facial injury that damaged the tooth underneath. If the bracket came off because of a fall or a blow to the face, and the tooth is now loose, chipped or throbbing, MedlinePlus advises treating that as a dental injury in its own right and seeking prompt care.

How long can I go with a broken bracket?

Honest answer: there is no guideline number. No national body publishes a maximum safe interval, because the right answer depends on which tooth, which stage of treatment, and what the wire is doing without its anchor. Anyone who gives you a confident universal figure is guessing.

What can be said with confidence is the mechanism of harm from waiting, and it is modest. While a bracket is detached, that tooth stops receiving the planned force. It does not start racing backwards; teeth move slowly in either direction, which is why the whole treatment takes months or years rather than weeks. A short pause on one tooth mainly costs time, not health. The Cleveland Clinic notes that adjustment visits are commonly scheduled several weeks apart, so orthodontists already plan around gaps in force. A brief unplanned gap on a single tooth is often absorbed into that rhythm.

Waiting becomes less acceptable in a few circumstances. Early in treatment, when teeth are being aligned in sequence, a missing anchor can let neighbours drift and complicate the next step. Late in treatment, when final positions are being fine-tuned, small losses matter more. And whenever a loose bracket leaves a wire free to migrate, the risk shifts from the tooth to the cheek and gum.

Practically, most people can manage a few days comfortably with wax and careful eating while the office finds a slot. Beyond that, keep the office informed rather than assuming silence is fine. If your next scheduled appointment is close, the team may simply tell you to come as planned. If it is weeks away, they may want you in sooner. Let them weigh it. Your job is to report the problem promptly and accurately; the timing decision belongs to them.

Braces wire poking cheek: making it comfortable at home

A poking wire is a different animal from a loose bracket, and often more uncomfortable. It usually happens in one of two ways. Either a bracket has detached and the archwire, no longer held at that tooth, has slid sideways so that one end now sticks out past the last molar. Or a tiny ligature wire, the thin tie that fastens the archwire to some brackets, has unwound and its cut end is scratching.

For a ligature wire, the tip can often be nudged back with the blunt end of a clean pencil eraser or the rounded end of a cotton swab, tucking the point under the archwire and away from soft tissue. Gentle pressure only; you are folding a hair-thin wire, not bending a coat hanger.

For a long archwire end poking behind the last bracket, orthodontic wax is the first line. Dry the area with a tissue, roll the wax into a small ball and press it firmly over the tip so it holds. It will fall off when you eat; simply replace it. If the wire has slid a long way, you may be able to slide it back gently with tweezers so it sits evenly on both sides, but only if it moves easily. Forcing it can pull other brackets loose.

Many orthodontic offices will tell a patient, over the phone, that a wire end sticking well out of the mouth may be trimmed at home with clean nail clippers as a last resort. Do not do this without that instruction. A wire cut without support can spring back, and clipped fragments are easy to lose in the mouth.

A sore patch under a wire usually settles quickly once the metal is covered. The NHS notes that most mouth ulcers heal within one to two weeks without treatment. A warm salt-water rinse may soothe the area; check with your team before using any numbing gel, and never apply anything meant for skin inside the mouth.

Can I eat with a broken bracket?

Yes, though with a shift in tactics. The goal is to avoid loading the loose part and to stop anything else coming off while you wait. Think of it as eating around the problem rather than fasting through it.

Soft, cool and cut small is the rule of thumb. Yoghurt, soups, well-cooked pasta, scrambled eggs, mashed vegetables, ripe fruit cut into pieces, and smoothies all work. Chew on the side of the mouth away from the loose bracket where you can. If the bracket is sliding on the wire and catching food, a little wax will stop it snagging.

Foods to set aside until the repair are the same ones that likely caused the break: anything hard (nuts, ice, crusty bread, raw carrots whole), anything sticky (caramel, chewy sweets, toffee) and anything you bite into with the front teeth, such as apples or corn on the cob, which can be cut off the core instead. The NHS orthodontic advice lists sticky and hard foods among the main things to avoid with fixed braces, precisely because they dislodge brackets.

Cleaning deserves a word too. A loose bracket collects plaque underneath and around it, and the tooth surface it has left behind is now exposed and easy to neglect. Brush gently but thoroughly around the area, and keep flossing elsewhere as normal. The CDC’s oral health guidance is blunt about the consequence of missed plaque: it drives both cavities and gum inflammation, and neither is improved by a mouthful of metal.

One more practical thought. If the bracket has come off completely and you are keeping it for the appointment, do not put it back in your mouth to hold it. It belongs in a container, not between your teeth.

Common metal braces problems at a glance

Most braces trouble falls into a handful of patterns. The table below is not a diagnostic tool; it is a way to organise what you have noticed before you call, so the office can triage accurately.

What you notice	Likely what happened	First step at home	Typical urgency
Bracket slides on wire, still attached to wire	Adhesive bond failed; tie still holding	Leave in place, wax if rubbing, call office	Days, at the office’s discretion
Bracket fully off, found loose	Bond and tie both released	Save the piece, wax any gap, call office	Days, sooner if early or late in treatment
Sharp point at back of mouth	Archwire shifted or bracket lost	Wax over the tip, gentle reposition if easy	Same or next working day if wax fails
Thin wire scratching near a bracket	Ligature tie unwound	Tuck under with blunt object, wax	Routine, mention at next visit if settled
Small coloured ring missing	Elastic ligature lost	Nothing; note which tooth	Routine
Whole archwire out of a back tube	Wire slid after a bracket loss	Reinsert only if it goes easily; otherwise wax	Within days
Tooth loose or chipped after a knock	Dental injury, not a braces fault	Do not wiggle; seek dental care promptly	Urgent
Swallowed piece with cough or breathing change	Possible aspiration	Emergency care	Immediate

Notice how few rows sit in the urgent band. The vast majority of braces problems are comfort and scheduling matters. The two that are not have nothing to do with orthodontics as such: they are a tooth injury and an airway concern, and both would be emergencies with or without braces.

Who usually gets a same-week repair, and who is asked to wait

Offices tend to prioritise by the same logic an orthodontist uses at the chair: where is the tooth, what stage is the plan at, and what is the loose metal doing to the soft tissue.

People commonly brought in quickly include those in the first weeks of treatment, when teeth are being levelled and aligned and every anchor counts; those close to the end, when tiny final adjustments are being locked in; anyone whose loose bracket has let the wire wander and poke; and anyone with more than one bracket off at once, since multiple losses can let a section of teeth drift together. A detached bracket on a canine or an incisor, teeth that are visible and that guide the bite, often gets more urgency than one on a molar.

People commonly asked to wait for their scheduled visit include those with a single loose bracket on a back tooth in the middle phase of treatment, where movement is steady and a short pause costs little; those whose next appointment is only a week or two away; and those who report that wax has made the area fully comfortable. The NHS notes that fixed-brace treatment usually runs 18 to 24 months, and orthodontists plan for the occasional interruption inside that span.

Certain situations change the calculation entirely. Anyone with a bleeding disorder, a compromised immune system or a condition affecting healing should mention it when calling, because a wire-caused sore that would be trivial for most people may need a closer look. Children who cannot reliably keep wax in place or describe what hurts are often seen sooner simply to remove the guesswork. And if the bracket loss followed a blow to the face, the priority becomes checking the tooth and jaw, which may mean a general dentist or emergency department first and the orthodontist second.

None of these categories are rules. They describe how offices typically triage, and your team may weigh things differently for good reasons.

What happens at the repair visit

Re-bonding a bracket is one of the shortest procedures in orthodontics, and it is worth knowing the steps so nothing surprises you.

The orthodontist or a trained assistant first removes the loose bracket from the wire, which means untying the small elastic or wire ligature and sliding the bracket free. If the bracket is being re-used, any old adhesive is cleaned off its base. The tooth surface is then cleaned of residual resin and plaque, usually with a rotating polishing tip; this feels like a vigorous toothbrush and is not painful.

Next the enamel is prepared. A mild acid gel is painted on for a short time and rinsed off. This microscopically roughens the surface so the new adhesive can grip. The tooth is dried thoroughly, because moisture is the enemy of a good bond and a damp tooth is one of the common reasons a bracket fails in the first place. A thin bonding agent goes on, then the bracket is seated with adhesive on its base, positioned precisely, and hardened with the blue curing light for a few seconds.

Finally the archwire is re-tied into the bracket. If the wire had shifted, it is recentred. If the wire was bent by the incident, it may be replaced. The whole process for a single bracket is typically a matter of minutes, though a visit may run longer if the team decides to make a planned adjustment at the same time.

Repairs rarely involve anaesthetic; there is no injection and no drilling into tooth structure. The acid gel can taste sour and the isolation devices that keep the tooth dry can feel awkward, but that is the extent of it. If a wire is trimmed or changed at the same visit, you may feel the familiar pressure of a fresh adjustment afterward.

The days and weeks after a repair: what usually happens

The first thing many people notice is nothing at all, which is the point. A re-bonded bracket should feel exactly like its neighbours. If the tooth was without force for a while, though, re-engaging it can bring a day or two of pressure similar to what you felt after your initial fitting. MedlinePlus describes this soreness after adjustments as expected and short-lived.

Eating on the first day should be gentle. The adhesive reaches most of its strength quickly under the curing light, but fresh bonds are still the most vulnerable in the mouth, and biting into something hard within hours of a repair is a well-worn way to end up back in the chair. Soft foods for the rest of that day is a common instruction.

Any sore spot on the cheek or gum left behind by the wire will usually heal on its own. The NHS puts the typical timeline for a mouth ulcer at one to two weeks. Keep the area clean, avoid very spicy or acidic foods that sting, and continue using wax on any edge that still catches, because tissue that has been rubbed once is easier to rub again.

Over the following weeks, treatment simply resumes. If the bracket had been off for a while, the orthodontist may adjust the plan slightly at the next visit to make up ground, or may find that no change is needed. A single detachment almost never alters the overall course meaningfully. Repeated detachments on the same tooth are a different story; they prompt a look at why, which might mean a change in bracket position, a different bonding approach, or a conversation about the habit that keeps causing it.

One thing to expect: your team will probably ask what you were eating. Answer honestly. It is not a scolding; it is how they help you avoid a repeat.

Is it common for braces brackets to break? Habits that make it more likely

Common enough that every orthodontic office has a routine for it. Bond failure is a recognised, expected part of fixed-appliance treatment, and most people wearing braces for a year or more will experience at least one loose or lost bracket. Published rates vary widely between studies depending on the adhesive, the tooth and the patient group, so no single percentage tells your story, and this article will not invent one.

What the evidence does agree on is where the risk comes from, and most of it is under your control.

• Hard foods: nuts, hard sweets, ice, popcorn kernels, crusty bread, whole raw carrots and apples bitten directly. The NHS lists hard and sticky foods as the main dietary culprits.
• Sticky foods: caramel, toffee, chewy sweets and gum, which grip the bracket and pull as you open your mouth.
• Non-food chewing: pen caps, fingernails, pencils and ice. Habit chewing applies force in odd directions that the bond was never designed for.
• Contact sports without a mouthguard: a blow to the mouth can strip several brackets at once and injure teeth. An orthodontic mouthguard shaped to fit over braces is the standard protection.
• Tooth grinding or clenching, particularly at night: sustained force on back brackets can slowly fatigue the bond.
• Picking at the appliance: probing a bracket with a fingernail or tongue, or fiddling with elastic ligatures, weakens bonds gradually.

Some causes are not yours. Back teeth are harder to keep dry during bonding, which is why molar brackets fail more often. Teeth with unusual enamel, fillings on the bonding surface, or a bite that brings a lower tooth down squarely onto an upper bracket are all more prone to failure, and an orthodontist will often anticipate this and use a different attachment or position.

The takeaway is not to be anxious about every bite. It is that a small set of avoidable habits accounts for a large share of repairs, and cutting them out is the cheapest orthodontic intervention there is.

What people often get wrong about a broken bracket

A loose bracket attracts confident advice from friends, forums and search results. Much of it is wrong, and some of it is harmful.

Myth: you can glue it back yourself. Household adhesives and superglues are not approved for use in the mouth, do not bond to wet enamel, and can release irritating chemicals against the gum. A bracket glued in the wrong position also moves the tooth the wrong way. Repairs need a clean, dry tooth and a dental adhesive placed with precision. Leave it to the team.

Myth: a loose bracket means starting over. A short pause on one tooth is absorbed into a plan measured in months. The Cleveland Clinic gives the typical total course as one to three years; a few days or weeks without one anchor rarely alters that meaningfully.

Myth: if it does not hurt, it does not matter. Comfort is a good sign, but a detached bracket is still a detached bracket. The office should know, even if you are not asking to be seen early.

Myth: you should pull off a bracket that is sliding on the wire. Removing it can bend the wire, scratch enamel, or leave a sharp wire end where the bracket used to be. Wax and a phone call are the safer route.

Myth: cutting a poking wire is always fine. Trimming a wire at home is a last resort that some offices permit for an end sticking well out of the mouth, and only after speaking to them. Unsupported cutting can spring the wire or lose fragments.

Myth: braces problems are dental emergencies. The NHS classifies loose or broken components as reasons to contact your orthodontist, not to attend emergency care. The exceptions, a swallowed piece affecting breathing or a tooth injury, are emergencies because of what else happened, not because of the bracket.

Myth: a bracket that keeps coming off means the orthodontist is doing something wrong. Repeated failure on one tooth usually points to a bite interference, a habit, or a hard-to-dry surface, all of which have practical solutions worth discussing rather than assuming blame.

Sore spots, ulcers and swollen gums: when a small problem becomes a mouth problem

Metal that rubs makes sores. A wire end or a rotated bracket pressing the same patch of cheek for a day or two produces a shallow, painful ulcer with a pale centre and a red rim. It is unpleasant but predictable, and the NHS notes that most mouth ulcers heal within one to two weeks once the cause is removed.

Removing the cause is the whole treatment. Wax over the offending metal, or repositioning the wire, lets the tissue recover. Rinsing with warm salt water can ease soreness, and avoiding sharp, salty or acidic foods stops the sting. Over-the-counter mouth gels exist, but check with your orthodontist or pharmacist before using one, and never use products intended for skin inside the mouth.

Gums are the other casualty. A loose bracket traps food and plaque, and plaque left against the gum for days causes it to redden, swell and bleed on brushing. This is gingivitis, the early and reversible stage of gum disease, and the CDC’s oral health guidance describes it as directly driven by plaque left in place. The remedy is mechanical: brush around the loose bracket carefully, use an interdental brush if you have one, and keep up your usual routine everywhere else. Bleeding when you brush inflamed gums is a reason to brush more gently and more often, not to stop.

Two situations deserve a call rather than watchful waiting. An ulcer that has not started to improve after two weeks, or one that keeps returning in exactly the same spot even with wax, suggests the irritant has not been dealt with and needs a professional look; the NHS advises having any mouth ulcer lasting longer than three weeks checked. And gum swelling that is localised, throbbing, or accompanied by a bad taste, fever or facial puffiness points to infection rather than simple inflammation, and that is a same-day dental matter.

Questions to ask your care team

When you reach the office, a few well-chosen questions turn a quick call into a plan you actually understand. You do not need all of them; pick the ones that fit your situation.

• Given which tooth this is and where I am in treatment, how soon do you want to see me?
• Is it safe to leave the loose bracket on the wire until then, or would you rather I did something else?
• If the wire is poking, is there anything you would like me to try at home before I come in?
• Should I keep the bracket that fell off, and will you re-use it?
• Are there foods you specifically want me to avoid until the repair, beyond the usual hard and sticky list?
• Will this delay my overall treatment, and if so, roughly how?
• This is the second time on the same tooth. Is there a reason it keeps happening, and can anything be changed?
• I play a contact sport. Do you recommend a specific type of mouthguard for braces?
• I grind my teeth at night. Could that be contributing, and is it worth addressing?
• If this happens again out of hours, what is your preferred way for me to reach you, and what counts as urgent enough to use it?

Write down the answers. Offices give this advice many times a day and it can pass quickly on the phone; having it in your own words means the next loose bracket, if there is one, is a two-minute non-event rather than a worry.

Notice that none of these questions ask the orthodontist to guess at your comfort from a distance. Tell them plainly what hurts, what rubs and what you have already tried. Clear reporting is what lets them triage well, and it is the one part of the process that only you can do.

When to call your doctor: red-flag signs that need more than an orthodontic appointment

Most braces problems belong to your orthodontist and can wait for office hours. A small number need a dentist, a doctor or an emergency department, and the distinction matters. Seek urgent medical care, not an orthodontic slot, for any of the following.

• A piece of the appliance has gone missing and you now have persistent coughing, wheezing, noisy breathing, chest pain or any difficulty breathing. This may mean the piece has entered the airway rather than the stomach.
• A wire has pierced the cheek, lip, tongue or gum and is lodged in the tissue, or you cannot free it without pulling.
• Bleeding in the mouth that does not stop with ten minutes of firm pressure using clean gauze or a cloth.
• The bracket came off because of a blow to the face, and a tooth is now loose, displaced, chipped, or extremely painful. MedlinePlus advises prompt dental care for tooth injuries, because early treatment influences whether the tooth can be saved.
• Swelling of the face, jaw or neck, particularly with fever, difficulty swallowing, or a bad taste, which may indicate a spreading infection.
• A jaw that will not close normally, or numbness of the lip or chin after an injury.

Contact your orthodontic office, and expect to be seen sooner rather than later, if a poking wire cannot be made comfortable with wax, if several brackets have come off at once, if pain is escalating rather than settling, or if a sore has not begun improving after two weeks. The NHS recommends having any mouth ulcer that persists beyond three weeks examined, whatever the cause.

Everything else, a single loose bracket, a lost elastic, mild rubbing that wax controls, is a message left with the office and a note in your diary. Your treating team decides the timing; your job is to tell them promptly and honestly what is happening in your mouth.

Frequently asked questions

How long can I go with a broken bracket?

There is no official maximum, because the answer depends on which tooth, how far into treatment you are, and whether the loose part is irritating your mouth. Most people manage comfortably for a few days with wax and soft foods while the office schedules a repair. The cost of waiting is mainly lost movement on that single tooth. Report it promptly and let your orthodontic team decide the timing.

Can I eat with a broken bracket?

Yes, with adjustments. Choose soft, cool foods cut into small pieces, chew on the opposite side where possible, and use wax if the loose bracket snags food. Avoid anything hard, sticky or bitten directly with the front teeth, since these are the foods most likely to have caused the break and could dislodge more. Keep brushing carefully around the area, because a loose bracket traps plaque.

Is a broken bracket an emergency?

Rarely. The NHS classifies loose or broken components as a routine reason to contact your orthodontist. It becomes urgent only when something else is going on: a swallowed piece with coughing or breathing trouble, a wire lodged in the cheek, bleeding that will not stop, or a tooth loosened or chipped by a knock. Those need emergency or dental care regardless of the braces.

Is it common for braces brackets to break?

Yes. Bond failure is an expected part of fixed-appliance treatment, and every orthodontic office has a routine for it. Reported rates vary widely between studies depending on adhesive, tooth and patient, so no single figure applies to everyone. Hard and sticky foods, non-food chewing, sports impacts and grinding account for most avoidable failures, while back teeth fail more often because they are harder to keep dry during bonding.

What should I do if my braces wire is poking my cheek?

Dry the area and press a small ball of orthodontic wax firmly over the wire tip. A thin ligature wire can often be tucked under the archwire with a clean pencil eraser. If a long wire end has slid out past the last bracket, try gently repositioning it with tweezers only if it moves easily. Do not cut it unless your orthodontist has told you to, and call the office if wax does not keep you comfortable.

Can I use super glue to fix a broken bracket at home?

No. Household adhesives are not approved for use in the mouth, do not bond to a wet tooth, and can irritate the gum. A bracket placed even slightly off position moves the tooth the wrong way. Re-bonding requires a cleaned, etched, thoroughly dried tooth and a dental adhesive hardened with a curing light, which is a quick procedure for your orthodontist and not something to attempt yourself.

Will a broken bracket delay my braces treatment?

Usually very little. A short pause on one tooth is absorbed into a plan that runs, according to the Cleveland Clinic, one to three years in total. Teeth move slowly in both directions, so a few days without an anchor rarely changes the overall course. Repeated breaks, or a long gap early or late in treatment, can add time, which is why offices prioritise those situations for quicker repair.

Should I remove a loose bracket that is sliding on the wire?

No. While the bracket is still threaded on the archwire it is held safely in place, and pulling it off can bend the wire, scratch enamel or leave a sharp wire end exposed. Cover it with wax if it rubs, and let the orthodontist remove it under proper conditions. If it falls off entirely on its own, keep it in a container and bring it to your appointment.

What happens if I swallow a bracket?

A single small bracket that goes down into the stomach typically passes through the digestive tract without trouble. The concern is if it enters the airway instead. Persistent coughing, wheezing, noisy breathing, chest pain or any difficulty breathing after a piece goes missing is an emergency that needs immediate medical care. If you feel completely well, call your orthodontic office to arrange the replacement.

How long does a sore from a poking wire take to heal?

Once the irritating metal is covered or repositioned, the NHS notes that most mouth ulcers heal within one to two weeks. Warm salt-water rinses may soothe the area, and avoiding sharp, spicy or acidic foods reduces stinging. A sore that has not begun improving after two weeks, keeps returning in the same spot, or lasts beyond three weeks should be examined by your dental team.

References

• NHS: Orthodontics
• MedlinePlus: Orthodontia
• NHS: Mouth ulcers
• MedlinePlus: Broken or knocked out tooth

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.