{"id":926,"date":"2024-09-03T17:29:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T17:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/?p=926"},"modified":"2024-09-11T17:31:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T17:31:24","slug":"can-i-fix-broken-braces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Fix Broken Braces?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-300x200.png\" alt=\"Close up of a metal bracket that has fallen off\" class=\"wp-image-927\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe it goes without saying that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/traditional-braces.html\">metal braces<\/a> are pretty sturdy. They don\u2019t break easily, but it is possible for brackets to pop loose or wires to get bent out of shape. With that said, your next question is probably \u201ccan I fix them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Damaged braces can be fixed \u2013 by a professional! If you\u2019re eyeing some compromised orthodontics, sit tight and keep reading. These tips will be much more effective than super glue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Loose Brackets: Remove or Secure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are two ways to handle a free-range bracket. If it\u2019s missing adhesive and is clinging to the wire by a mere thread, gently pry it off and save it for your orthodontist. They\u2019ll likely be able to apply new adhesive and re-attach your bracket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If it\u2019s more stubborn and won\u2019t let go of the wire, leave your bracket be for now. You can stick it to your tooth with orthodontic wax until you see your orthodontist for a permanent solution. Keep in mind that in both scenarios, dental adhesive and orthodontic wax aren\u2019t the same as store-bought glue! It makes for a poor substitute and will cause more problems than it solves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pokey Wire: Carefully Shift or Seal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A protruding wire can be especially uncomfortable. If it\u2019s still securely fastened to a bracket and just sticking out at an odd angle, you might be able to nudge it back into place with a cotton swab. If this doesn\u2019t do the trick, you can alleviate immediate chaffing with orthodontic wax. In either case, you\u2019ll want to call your orthodontist so they can check on your wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hanging Spacers: Don\u2019t Panic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are small, rubbery rings that sit in the gap between teeth, where you would normally floss. The idea behind them is to gently and slightly push your teeth apart so a metal band can be inserted later. Which \u2013 good news! \u2013 means that they\u2019re meant to be temporary. Loose or fallen-out spacers typically indicate that your teeth are far enough apart to fit an orthodontic band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Limp Bands: Leave Alone or Take with You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The band (or sometimes \u201cmolar band\u201d) is another metal piece, but instead of being placed directly on top of your tooth, it\u2019s wrapped around it. They\u2019re meant to keep brackets or other braces accessories in place, so they\u2019re important! Even though molar bands are held together with a special cement, they can come loose or fall away completely. Salvage the piece if it\u2019s fallen out, contact your orthodontist, and do not try to reattach the band yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whatever the damage is with your metal braces, your orthodontist can take care of it. However, fixing the problem yourself could very well make a bad situation worse. Applying orthodontic wax is as much as you can do without risking further harm. So make yourself comfortable, give your orthodontist a call, and let the professionals handle the rest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Washington Dental Associates, we have several specialists on staff, including certified orthodontist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/susan-roubicek-dmd.html\">Dr. Susan Roubicek<\/a>. If you\u2019re struggling with broken braces, give our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/contact.html\">office<\/a> a call at 201-453-4863. We\u2019ll fix your orthodontics as soon as possible so you can promptly enjoy life as usual!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maybe it goes without saying that metal braces are pretty sturdy. They don\u2019t break easily, but it is possible for brackets to pop loose or wires to get bent out of shape. With that said, your next question is probably \u201ccan I fix them?\u201d Damaged braces can be fixed \u2013 by a professional! If you\u2019re eyeing some compromised orthodontics, sit tight and keep reading. These tips will be much more effective than super glue! <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/\">(Read More)<\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can I Fix Broken Braces? | Washington Dental Associates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Metal braces are pretty hardy, but they can break. If you\u2019re thinking about fixing them yourself, follow these guidelines instead!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can I Fix Broken Braces? | Washington Dental Associates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Metal braces are pretty hardy, but they can break. If you\u2019re thinking about fixing them yourself, follow these guidelines instead!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Washington Dental Associates Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-03T17:29:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-11T17:31:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-300x200.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"washingtondent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"washingtondent\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"washingtondent\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d33b2941bb9aeed9f683aea421a67d94\"},\"headline\":\"Can I Fix Broken Braces?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-03T17:29:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-11T17:31:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":549,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can I Fix Broken Braces? | Washington Dental Associates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-03T17:29:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-11T17:31:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d33b2941bb9aeed9f683aea421a67d94\"},\"description\":\"Metal braces are pretty hardy, but they can break. If you\u2019re thinking about fixing them yourself, follow these guidelines instead!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/image.png\",\"width\":561,\"height\":374},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/03\\\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can I Fix Broken Braces?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Washington Dental Associates Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d33b2941bb9aeed9f683aea421a67d94\",\"name\":\"washingtondent\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ff45ef50bc9150b8157f1c9947da85bd12ae391660220d3f5203959da00476c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ff45ef50bc9150b8157f1c9947da85bd12ae391660220d3f5203959da00476c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ff45ef50bc9150b8157f1c9947da85bd12ae391660220d3f5203959da00476c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"washingtondent\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/washingtondent\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can I Fix Broken Braces? | Washington Dental Associates","description":"Metal braces are pretty hardy, but they can break. If you\u2019re thinking about fixing them yourself, follow these guidelines instead!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can I Fix Broken Braces? | Washington Dental Associates","og_description":"Metal braces are pretty hardy, but they can break. If you\u2019re thinking about fixing them yourself, follow these guidelines instead!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/","og_site_name":"Washington Dental Associates Blog","article_published_time":"2024-09-03T17:29:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-11T17:31:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-300x200.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"washingtondent","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"washingtondent","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/"},"author":{"name":"washingtondent","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d33b2941bb9aeed9f683aea421a67d94"},"headline":"Can I Fix Broken Braces?","datePublished":"2024-09-03T17:29:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-11T17:31:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/"},"wordCount":549,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-300x200.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/","url":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/","name":"Can I Fix Broken Braces? | Washington Dental Associates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image-300x200.png","datePublished":"2024-09-03T17:29:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-11T17:31:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d33b2941bb9aeed9f683aea421a67d94"},"description":"Metal braces are pretty hardy, but they can break. If you\u2019re thinking about fixing them yourself, follow these guidelines instead!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/image.png","width":561,"height":374},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/03\/can-i-fix-broken-braces\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can I Fix Broken Braces?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/","name":"Washington Dental Associates Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d33b2941bb9aeed9f683aea421a67d94","name":"washingtondent","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff45ef50bc9150b8157f1c9947da85bd12ae391660220d3f5203959da00476c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff45ef50bc9150b8157f1c9947da85bd12ae391660220d3f5203959da00476c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff45ef50bc9150b8157f1c9947da85bd12ae391660220d3f5203959da00476c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"washingtondent"},"url":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/author\/washingtondent\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":928,"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926\/revisions\/928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.washingtondentalnj.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}