broken bracket

[JWoods38]

So one of my brackets came off the tooth on one of my bottom teeth. I just noticed it last night and I just came from my dentist appointment and the assistant said she would make a note of it, and all she did was tighten my braces. They have been closed all week because of the hurricane and I didnt see the dentist at all today. Will this mess up the process? especially if they are tightening my braces to move my teeth?

[Sunny]

JWoods the best person to check with is your orthodontist.

A broken bracket usually has minimal affect on a person's treatment, but each case is individual, so please phone your ortho and check.

What do you mean by 'all she did was tighten my braces"?

[eatyourpeas]

A "broken bracket" will effect your treatment only in the fact that that tooth can't move while the bracket is off. There may be some subtle effect if that tooth was used as leverage to move another tooth. But still it is minimal over just a few days.

Get in to the orthodontist (dentist??) as soon as possible to get it repaired.

When you refer to "tightening" are you talking about changing the wire or the ligs as in an adjustment? If so, that should have been fixed then unless there was no time. If that were the case, they should have had you make an emergency appt before you left.

Are you seeing your dentist for your orthodontic work as well?

[JWoods38]

Well they are trying to move/space the bottom row to make room, so that they can move the teeth on each side of my 2 very front teeth outward because they are crowded i guess. So I'm thinking they are trying to move the other teeth towards the back of my mouth.

Right now I am supposed to be going in every week so that they can tighten the wires to move them faster. I told the assistant the bracket came off, and she said she would make a note of it (I guess the dentist wasnt there). Then she tightened the screw things on the back teeth and sent me on my way. I have an appointment on wednesday next week, and im just dissapointed that now i have to wait to have the bracket repaired and that it will have an effect on my teeth.

I'm just seeing a dentist right now, Im not seeing anyone about orthodontic work.

[Sunny]

JWood there should be minimal affect in this short period of time, but if you want to check, please give your dentist a call.

I'm not familiar with 'tightening', but it sounds similar to how teeth were moved many years ago, when the archwires weren't the memory type, and instead the archwire was 'wound' to shorten them and put pressure on the teeth to move back. Great that it's working for you!

[mariahfromchicago]

I hear people say tightening in the present. Jwoods, like everyone else said above, it is probably not going to affect your mouth much. Good luck.

[JWoods38]

Yes exactly Sonny, my top and bottom back teeth have tiny screws on them, and they're winding it so that it gets tighter and the teeth will move.

Thank you guys for the reasurance. I appreciate there being a place I can go to and ask questions when there's something on my mind. My dentist is kind of a jerk, so i dont like asking him anything.

[mariahfromchicago]

Oh, that's what you mean about tightening.

[Sunny]

I hear people say tightening in the present. Jwoods,

Most people use this word incorrectly Mariah, when what is meant is an adjustment. We think it's because adults who've been treated when the archwires weren't as advanced and had to be 'wound/tightened', use this term around younger people, and they copy the language. The memory archwires that are used in today's practices, shape and move the teeth within the arch, without the need for tightening.

With JWoods it's different, because at his adjustments, his archwires are being wound round tiny screws and it is having the affect of tightening the archwire and the pressure will move the teeth back.

JWoods sorry that you don't find your dentist the easiest to talk to, but I still recommend you try. You're paying for treatment and this person is the one you've trusted to do it, so maybe you can help him to learn there is a need to communicate clearly with his patients. Good luck!

[JWoods38]

Ok well I called and told them my bracket was broken, and if I should get it fixed. The woman on the phone told me to wait till my next appointment. My dentist appointment was yesterday. The assistant wound/added pressure to the screws again and when I asked her if my bracket was ever going to get fixed, she said "You have 2 more weekly visits until you see the dentist, just wait until then."

So I'm assuming that they know what they're doing and that even though some of the teeth on the bottom row have gone back to their placement since before braces, everything will somehow work out. I dont know.

[Sunny]

Often during our treatment we have to trust the people we've given this job to JWoods, and this sounds like one of those times for you.

I recommend asking about the missing bracket at your next appointment, but don't be concerned if nothing happens. I lost a bracket in my sleep (early in my treatment) and when I phoned my ortho I was told to wait till my next appointment, which from memory was 8 or 10 weeks away. When the tooth was rebracketed, it quickly caught up with the rest of my teeth and had no affect on my progress.

Good luck!