FAQ

Dr. Hiller will evaluate your wisdom teeth as we get closer to the end of your orthodontic treatment and he will decide then if it is necessary to refer you to an oral surgeon or your general dentist.

Place wax or another soft covering (sugarless gum, silicone ear plugs) ​on the area that the wire is poking to help with the discomfort and call our office for further instructions.

1. Call our office and ask to mail them. Please indicate the name of the rubber band.
2. Stop in any office during regular hours
3. After hours, please check our Orthodontic First Aid Kits located near the front entry of all offices.

Call our office as soon as you realize you have lost or broken your retainer and set up an appointment to get an impression for a new retainer. Please note that there will be a replacement fee for all lost/broken retainers.

If a spacer happens to come out please call our office to discuss if it needs to be replaced.

Call our office so we can determine if it needs to be replaced soon. In any event, save the bracket in a Ziploc bag and bring it with you to your next appointment so we can bond it back on.

Make sure that you give our office your current cell phone number, your cell phone provider, and your current email address. You will receive a text and/or email the day before your scheduled appointment, which will save you from having to call our office. You can always call to find out when your next appointment is scheduled.

Please do! We have a toothbrushing station just for that purpose. Once you sign in, we ask that you brush your teeth. We like to work in a clean mouth

Major Orthodontic emergencies are seldom, but when those irritating mishaps with your hardware do occur, we are available to you at one of our nearby locations. But first, take a look at our Braces First Aid to see if you can find the solution!

We recommend that you steer clear of those sticky and hard foods that can break and loosen brackets. We also recommend that you minimize sugary food intake. See a full list of What Not to Eat.

If the wax isn’t staying on, make sure to get the tooth and bracket dry. Try using your finger to pull your cheek out, suck in air, then quickly place wax on. If that doesn’t work use a paper towel or cotton ball to dry off the tooth and bracket.

Ask Dr. Hiller at your scheduled adjustment for the best possible answer.

During your orthodontic treatment, your teeth will go through a lot of different stages. You will have a series of wires that increase in size as your teeth become straighter. When you start wearing elastics, to correct your bite, your teeth may become sore at times, but continue to wear the elastics, so that your teeth will get used to them. Remember: for every hour you don’t wear your elastics, you lose the previous 10 hours of elastic wear!

You may not be brushing along your gum line as well as you should, or you are not flossing frequently. Flossing is very important for the maintenance of good gum health. Healthy gums generally do not bleed when you brush and floss. If the gums bleed, this is termed “gingivitis” and is actually indicative local inflammation caused by your body’s own reaction to bacteria or other foreign material (food) being stuck in and around the teeth. Regular flossing removes the plaque and food between your teeth and reduces your gums reaction to these things, thus reducing or eliminating bleeding over time.

After the braces are removed a patient will wear their retainers full time (except when they are eating or brushing) for 3 months. After that, patients are instructed to wear the removable retainers at night only. We always tell our patients “night time for a lifetime” because the only way to guarantee the maintenance of your fantastic smile after we remove the braces is to wear your retainers every night! After the amount of prescribed wear is over, we ask our patients to “try in nightly and wear if tight” to guard against the natural aging changes​. Replace when necessary.