Archwire fell out

[Vector]

The archwire keeps coming off I don't know why but can I just put it back in its slot? or do I have to get the orthodontist to do something about it?

[Sunny]

Vector give your ortho a call, as this shouldn't be something that you have to keep doing. Hopefully your ortho will be able to do something to prevent this from happening.

[Vector]

But does repositioning the archwire let the braces do their job or not.

[Zoso]

The archwire can only do it's job if it is working properly with the brackets - think of the brackets as little levers that transfer the forces from the archwire to the teeth. If the wire is not in the bracket slot, but pushing somewhere else on the bracket, the forces may not be properly transferred. And if the archwire is entirely clear of the bracket then that tooth would be receiving no force at all. But as soon as the archwire is properly placed back into the bracket slot, it will start working again.

You should certainly contact your ortho and arrange to go in to get this checked, so that whatever is wrong can be corrected. I don't know what type of brackets you have, so I can't guess how the wire is supposed to be held in place ("doors"/clips or manually placed elastic ties) but something's not working as it ought. It may be that you have traditionally tied brackets, I am guessing, and that a tie has come off. Anyway, it should hopefully be a quick and easy fix.

[Sunny]

Vector you need to get your ortho to sort this out, as if the archwire is coming out completely, you may not be positioning it correctly and therefore pressure will be placed on your teeth incorrectly and this may cause delays in your treatment.

[Zoso]

Sunny - I suspect it's just popping out of one or two of the individual brackets. If it's coming off completely, then someone must have forgotten to put on any ligatures at all! (Or close any doors!) Course I may be wrong. But if it's a simple arch (no special bends, no special shape) then I can't imagine he'd replace it very wrong, or it would be poking one side of his mouth terribly

[Vector]

well yeah the whole thing didn't come out just the end point.

[Zoso]

Ah!

It sounds like it may have moved a little off-centre - is there extra wire poking out at the other end, maybe?

[Vector]

no its just one side where the archwire fell out.

[Sunny]

Vector you need to contact your ortho, as it's ok for you to put it back in, except you can't be certain that you've not moved the archwire off centre, which will result in pressure being exerted on teeth in the wrong way.

Good luck getting this sorted!

[Vector]

Ok I fixed it now but I'm still wondering even if the wire only fell out of one of the sockets isn't the braces still trying to move my teeth because the other sockets are still in place or do the 2 endpoints on each set of braces control the tension.

[Zoso]

The archwire will act on the other brackets to which it is attached (and through those brackets on the teeth) whether or not the end of the wire is in the bucal tube.

But if it keeps coming out you should have your ortho check it. And, particularly if it is a flaxible wire, it may have become bent in replacing it in the tube. Since you say there is no extra wire at the other end, I wonder if this indeed is a very flexible wire, and perhaps it got dislodged from the tube when you were chewing something - and depending what this was, this too could have bent the wire. Best to get the doc to check.

[Vector]

yeah its pretty flexible I can bend it easily.