dental emergency

MANY PATIENTS TODAY are choosing aligner treatment for orthodontic tooth movement. There are many reasons influencing this choice, including appearance, ability to eat all foods, and comfort.

Aligner therapy also eliminates the possibility of broken braces brackets or poking wires. For the busy professional or college student away at school, traveling, or living abroad, aligner comfort is a big factor for orthodontic treatment comfort consideration. There is however one tool you should include in your aligner emergency kit. That is a nail file or emory board.

How Does An Emory Board Help?

Just as with braces, your initial aligners may irritate your cheeks and tongue for a short time and will take some time to get used to. Aligner edges may slightly stick out due to the shape of your gums when they are originally scanned or captured in the initial impressions for your aligner tray fabrication. You can smooth any slight protrusion in your aligner with your sandpaper nail file to immediately increase comfort without making an emergency trip to the orthodontist.

Come See Us!

If you have questions about aligners, Invisalign, Clear Choice, or overlay clear retainers, call us at Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, California 925-757-9000. If you are interested in aligner orthodontic treatment, call us for a free exam or visit our website at www.clubbraces.com.

Gorczyca Orthodontics has been providing aligner orthodontic treatment with Invisalign since 1999 and we have several hundred very happy aligner patients.

Here’s to your aligner orthodontic treatment and comfort! Your smile is our inspiration.

OUR TEETH–AND BRACES–POTENTIALLY DEAL with a lot when we’re out and about. Basketball games, pie-eating contests, pizza crust... it’s a rough life. Usually our teeth are strong enough (or we’re lucky enough) to not suffer any major problems.

However, accidents happen. And fortune favors the prepared, so here are some tips for guarding yourself against dental and orthodontic emergencies.

You’re Less Likely To Suffer A Dental Emergency If You...

• Wear a mouth guard during sports
• Keep good, regular care of your teeth and gums
• Keep your regularly scheduled appointments to check on teeth and orthodontic work
• Stay away from the hard, crunchy, and sticky foods we warned you about when you started orthodontic treatment

Just In Case, Here Are Five Items To Have On Hand

Keep these items in a little dental emergency kit that you can keep on hand—at home, in you car, and while you travel.

Painkiller: An all-natural topical painkiller that many people find useful is clove oil. Remember, NEVER put aspirin right ON the tooth.
Orthodontic wax: If something is out of whack, you can just cover it with wax until we can take a look.
Floss: This is handy if something uncomfortable gets wedged between teeth, or wires.
Gauze: In case of a knocked-out or loose tooth, you can put the tooth back in place, and bite on some gauze to keep it there until you get professional care.
Fingernail clipper: A fingernail clipper can be used to clip a poking wire.
Pencil with eraser: The eraser of a pencil can be used to slide a wire back into place or push a poking wire.
Tweezers: Tweezers can be used to grab the end of a wire and place it back into an orthodontic bracket.
Our contact info: Be ready to contact us. If you’re on vacation, we can give you professional advice and maybe refer you to someone nearby.

Are You Going On A Vacation This Summer?

Remember the tips above. If it’s time for your check-up, visit us before your trip. Contact us at Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, California 925-757-9000. Don't let dental or orthodontic issues interfere with your family vacation. Be prepared!

Let us know where you’re going on vacation below! We’d also LOVE to see your photos. You can share them on our Facebook page.

Thanks for being a valued part of our practice. Stay safe, and have fun!

PICTURE THIS: YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE TRAVELED to a gorgeous beach location for a week of fun in the sun. You’re about to do some serious sunbathing, swimming, and snorkeling when a family member starts complaining about a bad toothache! Or, a pokey wire is making someone’s cheek bleed. Argh! Few things can kill your vacation spirit faster than a dental problem or dental emergency. So here are a few tips for taking your teeth on vacation!

Before You Go

If you’ve been keeping your regularly scheduled appointments, this is probably not an issue. But if not, call us to make an appointment. As you know, most problems with your teeth or mouth happen gradually. If we can catch a developing issue before you leave on your vacation, you probably won’t need any of the other tips below.

Second, consider making yourself a “dental emergency kit” to pack along on your vacation that includes the following:

• Mouthguard(s) - A mouthguard prevents chipped or knocked out teeth. If your plans include any type of high adventure activities (or things as simple as skateboarding or other sports), consider taking a mouthguard.
• Floss - You were planning to bring floss along anyway for your nightly dental routine, right? We knew it.
• Pain Relievers - Both topical and ingested (but don’t use aspirin as topical pain relief as it can damage your gums).
• Orthodontic Wax - If anyone in your group has braces, you probably already know how important this is.
• Clove Oil, Pencil w/ Eraser, and Sugarless Gum - See explanation below.
• Contact Information - Even if we aren’t close by, you may need to contact us via phone or email.

Some On-The-Spot Tips

• Toothache - Rinse your mouth with warm water and apply an icepack to your cheek if it’s swelling. It may be helpful to apply some topical pain reliever or dab clove oil on and around the tooth. If the pain persists, get a hold of us.
• Chipped, Broken, Or Knocked Out Teeth - Save the pieces/tooth in milk or salt water and get to emergency care quickly. After an hour, odds decrease that the tooth will go back in where it belongs. If there’s bleeding, put some gauze over the wound.
• Lost Filling - Here’s a cool tip—put sugarless (sugarless only!) gum in the spot the filling used to cover. This will keep the pain down and stop other things from getting stuck in the gap.
• Something Caught In Your Teeth or Braces - Rinse with warm water and gently floss. If it’s not coming out, DON’T try poking around with something sharp. Give us a call or seek out local care before it causes grief.
• Pokey Braces Wires - You can try to move a protruding wire with a pencil eraser. If that doesn’t work and it’s still poking you, cover it up with wax. Not enough wax? You can use sugarless gum or foam earplugs. We don’t want you trying to clip any wires yourself.

Many Of The Same Tips (and more) In A Short Video

When In Doubt, Contact Us

That’s why you’ll want to include our contact information in your emergency kit. We’ll give you advice, or refer you to someone in the area if you need immediate care. We’re here to help you and your family in any way we can. Keep in mind that if you are somewhere with internet access, you can always direct message us on our Facebook page!

Have a fantastic vacation, and thank you for being our valued patient!

Any other tips YOU know about? Share them below!