Archwire - like a needle into my cheek!!!

[IntentionallyBlank]

Hey dudes,

I've only had my brace for a week, but i'm more or less used to it. The abrasions and weird feeling is fine, and i'm hving no probs eating.


The one thing that is agony is my archwire poking out of the back of my left molar bracket and into my cheek!!!! Ouch! its like a hyperdermic needle is being poked into my cheek every minute, and its even worse when i talk!! Double Ouch!!! . My cheek is cut to shreds and it feels like its starting to swell up.

I checked when my ortho fitted the wire that she had trimmed the wire flush with the bracket, but in a week it seems to have moved and now there is about 7mm of wire sticking out the back.

Its only been a week, and i feel like a bit of a wuss phoning my ortho to complain already... but all it would need to fix the problem would be a quick cut with a pair of wire snips! (I'm almost tempted to do it myself!!! [although i wouldnt!!])

Anyone else with the same problem? I think i read about this on another thread somewhere recently, but i couldnt find it with search.

[edit] found it here

Cheers..

IB in NI.

[missing_tooth]

I only had to go back once, when I first got braces, the back molar was like you said. After my last ajustment I almost went back, strangely enough it seems to have gone away.

- Missing Tooth -

[lionfish]

I suffered extra long wires for 3 weeks on both sides and went in to have them clipped rather than wait another 3 weeks until my next adjustment. I'm glad I did.

I suggest you call your ortho's office and see if they can clip your wires.

[IntentionallyBlank]

Cool,

just phoned the ortho and her receptionist said it's normal cos my teeth are moving, she's asked me to come in at 11am (its now 9.30am) to get my archwire trimmed.

Nice one. Good service.

IB

[IntentionallyBlank]

'ello,

Just back from the ortho's, glad i went. my archwire had slipped out of the right side and had moved to the left so that it was poking out the back of the left molar band. My ortho took all of my ligs out, re-positioned the wire and then put the ligs back on. Job done in 5 mins and now no pain (apart from my raw cheek!)





So, i'm glad i didn't get the wire cutters out, like some people suggested!! Goes to show that we are not experts, and that everyone's case is different!!


IB

[mostro]

I am glad you feel ok now. I went the very next day to my ortho's office to have the molar brackets revised cuz I was feeling a very sharp pain. Also he applied some wax. Now I feel a lot better too.

Good luck to us all!

[Way Too Old For This]

Quote:
So, i'm glad i didn't get the wire cutters out, like some people suggested!! Goes to show that we are not experts, and that everyone's case is different!
Who suggested this? I don't think any one would want you to cut the archwire yourself, unless your ortho specifically told you that you could and how to do it. This type of work is for the professionals, who've studied long and hard to do the job

Well I did....cut the archwire myself that is. I would not suggest that others do it, but I couldn't stand it poking my cheek and it was Friday night and I couldn't wait until Monday. And the wax poked right through it. I told the ortho later that I did it and he said that was ok. I tried bending it but the heavier square archwires don't bend that easy. Plus when I tried to bend it I could feel it all the way on the other side of my mouth so I think cutting it was safer.

[Way Too Old For This]

Karen, It wasn't easy. I used a pair of brand new wire cutters I had bought for jewelry making and I washed them real good. But I really had to stretch my mouth out to get them lined up for cutting and it took a long time. By the time I was done you could see an outline of the cutters' handles on my cheeks. But like I said, I was desparate. I told my friend the other day that I can't believe what I will put in my mouth now. Its really kind of bad.

I too was kind of disappointed that the dentist couldn't take the wires off so they could clean my teeth. I had to go to the ortho get the wires off, then go to the dentist for cleaning, then back to the ortho to have the wires put back on. Next time, I think I'll let them clean around the wire.

[paulosportz]

firstly thats a good sign that your teeth are moving.

mines starting to stick out already and its been less then 2 weeks.

just make an appointment to get it trimmed again =]

[IntentionallyBlank]

guys,

its been 4 days since i went to the ortho and had the corrections made, and i am starting to feel the wire in my cheek again! It is starting to get stuck on my fleshy cheek, and i can "twang" it with my finger.

I'll have to see how it goes, but this is what happened before. Lets see if i get to thursday without going insane and calling my ortho again!!!


IB

[ssfw]

I would call your orhto's office today. Three more days of wire poking in your cheek is a long time - is it irritating your cheek?

After I had my braces on for 1 week, the archwire was sticking out a bit on my left side. The wire didn't poke me but I felt it when my tongue made contact with it. I wasn't majorly concerned but called my ortho's office the next morning and was told this is common because the archwire I have is very light and the movement is caused by the movement of my teeth. My concern was that maybe the wire from the other band got unattached from the bracket - unfortunately I couldn't see it because it is a metal bracket on the band and the archwire is metal. My ortho's office said it would be best that I come in so that they can take a look to see if it did get unattached or if the excess wire was just from the movement of my teeth. As it turns out, it was just excess wire from the movement of my teeth so the assistant clipped it and to try to avoid this from happening again, she placed a stopper in the archwire - towards the back tooth and it's been great since then.

My orthodontist has told me to never hesitate to call if I'm having a problem with my expander or braces. He told me that they don't want their patients in any avoidable pain or discomfort. Everyone is so nice at my ortho's office. I too have apologized for having to make a couple additional appts. for unexpected things - they have told me that there is no need to apologize.

My ortho's office always has an assistant on call so if there is ever an after-hours emergency, someone would be available to help me. I'm also fortunate that my ortho's office is about 10 minutes away. The assistant even told me that it's best to call to schedule an appt. for unexpected things during office hours rather than wait until after-hours - it will save the assistant a trip to the office. I think I would be too scared to cut the wire myself because I would be afraid that I might do something to effect the entire archwire.

Regarding getting my teeth cleaned and getting the wire removed then put back in - you just need to schedule your appt. to get the wire removed, get your teeth cleaned and get the wire placed again ahead of time so that it works well for your schedule and your ortho's office schedule. You will get use to it and if you think about it you only have to do this a few times because that's how often you get your teeth cleaned. I was told that removing the archwire is easier for the hygienist to do a better cleaning and just not have to work around the archwire.

ssfw

[fins]

IntentionallyBlank- In my case I could count on the wire poking out the back exactly one week after my adjustments. I just made an appointment and had the wire clipped each time. It only took a minute and the office didn't seem to mind.

There's enough discomfort to deal with, why not alleviate at least SOME of it.

[blackcat20]

Ive hit the 5 week mark today, and just becuase I have to give a presentation in a couple of hours, my archwire has gone homicidal and is poking into my cheek. No time to get it fixed cos Im at uni so Ive globbed on a huge chunk of wax until I can get it clipped....