Providing Care for Families in Clermont, Groveland, Minneola and surrounding communities.

(352) 227-3258

If you are experiencing pain or persistent irritation, please contact the office immediately during business hours at 352-227-3258 or contact Dr. Adams on his personal cell phone after business hours at 407-319-2746. Usually, this pain or persistent irritation is caused by a wire that is poking your gum tissue or cheeks. If you are unable to remedy this situation as noted below, again please contact the office or Dr. Adams to take care of this issue. Not addressing the poking wire as soon as possible may lead to an infection. So, please contact us immediately.

For some orthodontic issues, there are ways to fix the issues by yourself or temporally fix them until you’re able to come to the office.

Loose bracket

  • If a bracket has come loose and it is still secured onto the wire, leave it and contact the office to make an appointment to have it fixed as soon as possible.
  • If a bracket has come loose and it is no longer on the wire and you have it in your possession, make an appointment and bring it to that appointment to have it rebounded onto the tooth as soon as possible.
  • If the bracket came off and it was lost, contact the office to make an appointment to have it replaced as soon as possible.
  • It is important to note that teeth cannot be moved unless brackets are attached to them. Not fixing a broken bracket or brackets as soon as possible will delay treatment progress and may even prolong it.
 

Poking wire

Poking wire
Wax on poking wire
  • A poking wire may be due to an arch wire, which goes through every single bracket, that has shifted and it is now poking the back of your mouth or due to a very back bracket breaking loose from a tooth, leaving a long span of arch wire that is now unsupported and poking you. This issue cannot be remedied by you and you must contact the office or Dr. Adams to fix it as soon as possible.
  • A poking wire may also be due to a steel ligature tie that is holding the arch wire to a particular bracket. This issue can be easily remedied by using a pencil eraser and pushing the poking steel ligature tie underneath the wire so that it is no longer poking you. However, if you are unable to do this, please contact the office or Dr. Adams immediately to fix it.
  • Temporary relief for either type of poking wire may be achieved by using a piece of soft wax to place over the poking wire as was demonstrated to you when your braces were placed. If you ever need more wax, please do not hesitate to ask for some at your next appointment.