Popped wire on last molar

[TMJJill]

Thanks Jano.

The splitting lip thing can be pretty miserable. My traditional lip solutions don't seem to be working as well since I get my braces. I'm still searching out a good combination as well.

Maybe I shouldn't have complained so much on this. It is just frustrating at times. I've had to take off an inordinate amount of work in the last couple weeks since I have to take at least 2 hours minimum every trip. In addition to not getting all my work accomplished, one of my fellow managers swears I'm "crushing" on my ortho dentist. She doesn't realize I don't usually see him when I go in to get my wire fixed. Talk about getting ribbed...

I hope your lips are a bit better tonight.

[TMJJill]

Well, this time the new wire stayed in for 6 days. I only made it one day before I got a pokey on the other side though. The day after they put my new stronger wire in, I got a pokey on the left end behind by back molar. It is long enough that I've had to have wax on it constantly. The smaller amounts of wax don't work. I've had to use larger pieces and even then have had the wire slice through the wax after a while. I've been going through at least a pack of wax a day since last Thursday. The stores nearby where I'm staying right now were out of wax so I bought some of that Mac silicone ear wax to see how it works. It isn't fun having the equivalent of a marble in such a tight small space 24/7. On top of that, I'm supposed to be wearing elastics on that last molar at night too. Even though I shouldn't, I've skipped a couple nights with one of my 2 sets of elastics. Today, Monday, my right side wire popped out of the bracket while I was eating lasagna. I'm assuming that it is because the wire has slid to the left with the pokey. Either way, it is frustrating. My orthodontic office is closed until January 3--the day I have my next 6 month check-up with my regular dentist ironically. They do have a number to call for emergencies, but while I'm having discomfort, I don't know that it is a dental emergency. I would just LOVE to go my planned 6 weeks between visits instead of having to drive 45 minutes each way from work once or twice a week during work hours.

It really is frustrating having to take so much time off work too. In addition to all my ortho stuff, I also have another orthopedic issue that I'm having an MRI for to see if I need surgical intervention. Overall, the last couple weeks have been pretty crummy for my medical issues.

Is this something I should consider an emergency or should I just plan to suffer for another 8 days?

[Snowglobe32]

Last Wednesday, when I went in at 8:30 to get my wires out so I could go to the lab to get new scans, xrays and photos done...I figured I would be done within 2 hours...not so...After getting the wires out, went to the lab then back to the ortho, I didn't leave until..get this - 12:47!

It was my birthday and I had lunch plans so I missed lunch, I was irritated beyond irritated. I didn't know my entire morning would be me basically waiting around for stuff. That is a major complaint I have when there is only one ortho, I am constantly waiting. I was off work all week so at least I didn't have to go to work but seriously, that was insane!


And guess what, my lower right wire popped out of my wisdom tooth the next day.

At one adjustment, when I got a new wire, I was done in 14 minutes, then had to wait almost an hour for the ortho to come check me. He was on the phone with someone. Another patient got tired of waiting and just got up and left.


I hope your issues get figured out and you don't spend your treatment time waiting like me...

[TMJJill]

The only day my orthodontist has ever kept me waiting was the actual day I got my braces on--1 1/2 hours late and 1/2 hours to get the braces on.... Otherwise they at least do well for me by that.

Happy birthday anyway. Hope you've had good holidays since.

[sirwired]

I wonder why so many are having trouble with shifting wires? Just after ligating my braces for the first time, the assistant crimped some clips near the center of the wire to keep the wire from ever shifting. I suppose that wouldn't work with tooth-colored wires, but it definitely stops regular wires from moving around.

[TMJJill]

I've got self-ligating braces on. I gave in and called my orthodontic office today. I've been having headaches and realized it was from my wire issues. My muscles have been spasming again which was one of my TMJ symptoms prior to orthodontic treatment. Because the wire kept slicing through the wax, I've had to use really large pieces just past that back molar. Very uncomfortable, especially when I had to use it on both sides after the right wire popped out.

I've been out of town and they actually met me at the office on my way back from the airport. The experienced tech was the one who came in on her vacation to help. She said all my brackets were closed and the wire was the correct length so she can't figure out why my wire keeps shifting. She is going to talk to the dentist next week when they return to work to see if he can figure it out.

On a side note, the tech showed me how to open my own brackets so I can shift the wire on my own next time. I'm not sure I can do it easily on those back molars, but at least I know how to do it properly.

Thanks for your support and advice.

TMJJill

[Snowglobe32]

Thanks TMJJill!

To stop shifting wires, a stopper or crimp can be placed on the wire to keep the wire from moving.

Wires can shift for many reasons, sometimes they get a bend which causes things to loosen up. As your teeth move, the wires move also. But for the two of us, who are having wires pop all the time, it has to be because the wire was cut too short.

I looked at my wire today and it is just a sliver short of touching the bracket. I have SureSmile wires and when they took them out for my scans last week, the assistant said I had a bend. I am just waiting for my new wires to arrive so I will deal with the issue for a few more weeks. Occasionally, I will push my cheek away from my teeth (by blowing air) and I can feel the skin pop from the wire...so irritating!

[TMJJill]

Well, my wire has already slipped back since I had it fixed on Wednesday. By the time I got home tonight, my cheek was raw. Sad thing was that I have become a bit used to the irritation and didn't notice it at first until it really got pokey. Using the technique the dental tech showed me, I was actually able to open my brackets up and move my wire back into place. This will certainly save me much aggrevation and oral irritation and keep me from having to take so much time off work. It will also make my New Year's weekend much more comfortable. I go back on the 12th for my next regular follow-up and will discuss this sliding wire with him further then unless I hear from his office sooner. I'm sure they will be telling him that they had to come in on their vacation to fix me up this week.

By the way, I bought out the local stores of dental wax when I was on vacation and still ran out over Christmas since the wires kept cutting through my marble size balls of wax. I tried the Mack pillow soft silicone ear plugs that other posters wrote about and it was a real lifesaver. It is nice and soft and the wires didn't cut through it like it did traditional dental wax. Thank you to the posters who shared this little tidbit.

[TMJJill]

I have continued to have shifting of my archwire on a daily basis. Every night for the last couple weeks, I've popped open some of my brackets and moved the wire back into place. When I went in for my follow-up appointment today, I had 1/4 inch of wire poking out and I'd shifted it into place last night. Today, my dentist moved me up to the next wire. I have Damon self-ligating braces and the wire today went from being rounded to being rectangular. The new one is .018 and is larger than my last two wires. Hopefully the shape change and wire stiffness will keep this wire from slipping as much. On the plus side, my dentist is really pleased with my arch development so thankfully this allowed me to upgrade to the next step in my archwire treatment. Now to endure the pain I'm already feeling with the new archwire... all in the name of progress, right?

Thanks again for the tip on the Mack silicone.

By the way, while my brackets are clear, the wire isn't. I'm still loving the self-ligating system though.

[sirwired]

I'm surprised your ortho hasn't put clips on the wires to keep them centered... you shouldn't have to be doing frequent adjustments to your braces on your own.

[Snowglobe32]

Well, my bottom right wire popped out of my bracket yesterday (for what seems like the 50th time). I called the office today to see what my status is on my new wires and final treatment plan. I went in over 3 1/2 weeks ago to get the last set of xrays, scans and photos.
Unfortunately, the assistant who helps my ortho with SureSmile, has been out of the office because of a death in the family. So they haven't been able to review my records. Which means my new wires are not on the way.

I now have a bottom left wire that is out of the bracket (cutting into my cheek) and my right wire is too short to reach the bracket so that side of my mouth has been cut up for some time. It seems as if the inside of my cheek just gets sucked into the wires. It is the weirdest thing.

I will try to get my SL bracket gate open to pop the wire back in but it is on a wisdom tooth and it is pretty hard to reach. They were at the location near my home today but I couldn't leave work because we had too many people out. They are open Monday (I am off for the MLK holiday) but they are at the office that is a good 30 minutes away... ((heavy sigh)).

At this point, I feel like I am just a whale lost at sea. I am over the 27 month mark and my original estimate was 22-24 months. It is so frustrating but I guess I would rather be dealing with a pokey wire or two than a death in the family.

[BracedInNOLA]

I would TOTALLY drive 30 minutes if the wires were poking me that much!

[Snowglobe32]

The 30 minute drive time doesn't kill me, it is the total time it will take before I get out of there....probably 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It is so insane when I go for the smallest thing. A popped wire...at least 1 hour. He is the only ortho, they schedule many patients (which is fine) but he also takes phone calls and does consultations all at once. That would be my biggest gripe about my ortho - the waiting around.

But I am finally getting smart, I schedule my appointments for the end of the day. This way, they want out as much as I do.

I am thinking about calling Monday to go in. When I eat, my wire gets pushed into my cheek. If I knew I would get a standard wire until I can get my new SureSmile wires, I would be there. But they tend to just pull the left side which makes the right side too short.

Then again, I do have a 3 day weekend and who wants to spend a day off at the ortho????

[TMJJill]

8 days now and my new, upgraded wire is holding firmly in place. I guess all that slipping and pain was my braces way of telling me it was time to move to the next phase of treatment.