Can you believe that March has already arrived? Neither can we! With April just around the corner that also means Spring Break season is upon us. Most of the local schools have their spring break during the month of March, including Longview, Marshall, Spring Hill, Pine Tree, Hallsville, Gilmer, Kilgore, Carthage and more! If you happen to be one of the families traveling during Spring Break we wanted to help you remember some important tips to take care of anything that may come up with your orthodontic appliances while you are away from East Texas.
Should you have any orthodontic braces that come loose while you are away rest assured that it is not something where you need to visit an orthodontist in whichever city you are in (Dallas, Tyler, Shreveport, etc…) to try and have them repair that bracket. If the bracket is bothering you, placing some wax around the bracket can help alleviate any discomfort you may be having from the loose bracket. Alternatively, if the bracket is one in the way back, you might be able to just slide the bracket off the wire, in which case you can save the bracket in a little bag and bring it home with you from vacation. We can then put the bracket back on once you return to Longview. If you do end up sliding the back bracket off your orthodontic wire, then you will end up with a long wire that is likely poking you.
There are also a couple different things you can do when you have an orthodontic wire poking you. You might be able to simply cut the wire with a cuticle cutter if you have a flexible wire in. If not, using some of the orthodontic wax we give you at your initial visit will again help temporarily alleviate any discomfort you may be having.
If you happen to misplace, lose, or break one of your Invisalign clear aligners, you can jump ahead and wear the next Invisalign aligner in your sequence. If you do not have your next Invisalign tray with you, then you can wear your previous Invisalign or Invisalign Teen tray. As you can probably tell, if you are going on vacation, please bring your next Invisalign or Invisalign Teen aligner with you, or your previous tray if you do not have your next tray with you. This way, in the unfortunate event that something should happen, you are not without a tray for your entire Spring Break.
In any of these cases though, please do not hesitate to contact our Longview orthodontic office and ask what you should do. We are more than happy to help walk you through any of these situations should something happen while you are away from East Texas.
If you have any additional questions about Mack and Hansen Orthodontics or want to discover how Dr. Spencer Mack and Dr. Andrew Hansen can help you gain straighter teeth and a healthier smile with braces or Invisalign please contact us today! You can also visit www.etxortho.com to learn more about our orthodontists or dental braces,. We’re conveniently located in Longview, TX right by Longview Regional Hospital and are just a quick drive from Marshall, Carthage, Henderson, Kilgore, and Gilmer.
