Braces are normally used to correct some dental problems like crowding, crooked teeth, or teeth that are out of their normal positions or normal arrangement. Is it necessary to get braces? Getting braces is actually optional even for people who don’t have aligned teeth. For less serious orthodontic problems, clear aligners might be employed instead of braces. Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry that deals with the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of malpositioned teeth and jaws, as well as misaligned bite patterns.
Most people get braces as teenagers to correct their irregular alignment. Although there are adults who have misaligned bite patterns and braces might come in. Braces might not be suitable for everyone’s teeth as they can actually cause severe mouth injuries if they are not properly placed or the brace brackets get out of position.
Why Are My Braces Cutting My Cheeks?
This problem usually starts when you’re sleeping and creates a negative pressure in your mouth that sucks the cheek into the bracket. Or you sleep with your hand under the pillow, pushing the cheeks towards the brackets. Furthermore, the lack of salivation during sleep makes it all worse. You can try to alleviate this by using wax for sleeping only and avoiding sleeping with your arm or hand under your cheeks. During the daytime, you can try to use sugar-free chewing gum to keep your mouth moisturized, your cheeks moving, and you can put the chewing gum on the brackets for a little temporary comfort.
When braces are placed in, it can cause discomfort, but eventually the mouth will adapt. As time goes on, if your braces keep cutting the inside of your mouth, then there is a problem. The problem mostly comes from the brackets. Brace brackets are the small metal or sometimes ceramic devices that hold the wires placed on your teeth. The brackets basically tighten the brace and help align the teeth. To attach the brackets, the orthodontist places a small amount of glue in the center of each tooth. Then they shine a blue light on your teeth to set the glue. The glue usually tastes bad, but it isn’t toxic to you.
If your braces are cutting your cheek, then it can be due to one of these three reasons:
- The wire inside your bracket has moved out. This should be visible when you look at the mirror though. If the wire moves out of the bracket, then it might cut your cheek. If the wire moved out of the bracket, then you will have to consult your orthodontist to adjust it or get it removed.
- When you have newly placed the brace and it keeps cutting into your cheek, it will heal itself in 2-3 days maximum. You can apply wax or even place wet cotton next to it. If it doesn’t heal after 2-3 days, then you should consult your orthodontist. It might be normal for a newly placed brace to hurt on the first day, but if the pain goes on, then there might be a problem.
- It could be that the bracket has loosened up again, not the wire this time around. You should visit your orthodontist to get it adjusted.
What Causes Brace Brackets To Come Off?
If the problem is from the bracket and it keeps coming off, you should check if it is from the same bracket.
- If the same bracket repeatedly comes off, it could be that another tooth is hitting the bracket (most commonly, an upper tooth hitting a bracket on the lower tooth)—you should be able to feel if this is happening, inform your orthodontist.
- If different brackets keep coming off, then it could be from your diet. You should keep an eye on your diet and avoid foods that can harm your braces, at least for a while until they do their job and are removed.
- It could be as a result of poor quality brackets or bonding cement. But it’s just a possibility made theoretically. Most of the brackets and cements available today work well for all practical purposes . Bond failures are not usually the problem with poor quality brackets… Poor tongue control is the problem.
You should discuss these problems with your orthodontist, who should be able to find a suitable solution.
[starbox]
