After getting braces, they may rub your cheek or gums for a while and even make a cut or you have had broken braces or poking wire. When this irritates you and causes pain, you may put wax for braces. But, how to apply dental wax on braces?
You can put dental wax for braces simply using your two fingers and sticking well to the affected part of the brackets or wires. However, you have to choose the appropriate wax to get the best outcome.
In this article, you will get a complete guide to using dental wax if you feel pain or the braces wire gets loose, popped, or broken.
Step-by-step guide to applying Dental Wax On Braces
Here is the step-by-step guide to putting orthodontic or dental wax on braces based on the method provided by the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO).
Step 1: Getting the dental wax
1. Get a box of wax from your orthodontist.
After getting braces on your teeth, you get essential orthodontic kits for your braces from your orthodontist.
You also get dental wax in those kits. In fact, this is one of the most important kits of all while wearing braces.
However, if you don’t have it, collect some dental wax next time when you visit your orthodontist.
It can help you anytime when you face problems with braces and wires. But, what’s the use of the wax?
The wax act as a protective barrier between your cheek or gums and the metal braces or wires. This helps you to heal your cut or sore.
2. Buy a box of wax.
If you don’t get wax from the orthodontist or you run out of wax, you can buy it from a dental store or pharmacy.
Orthodontic wax isn’t like rubber bands that you can’t buy from outside. Before you buy, you can know about the types of wax you need to apply dental on braces.
You can also get help from your orthodontist. You can have a collection of wax because you may need it from the first day of braces to the last day.
Step 2: Preparing the area of applying
1. Identify the area.
First of all, identify the place where you want to use wax. Give priority to the tooth that you are feeling pain in or a bracket or wire that has been broken.
Take a mirror and look at that part of your face with the light on. Pull your check out and look carefully.
You can also use a spoon to pull the cheek and expose the area if you are facing trouble doing it with your hands.
You may need it, as in most cases back wires cause the problem. If you don’t identify the area properly before you apply the dental wax on braces, you may get failed to put it perfectly.
So, when do you need to put wax on braces?
You can put wax on any brackets, wires, or teeth under the following condition:
- New braces hurting gums or cheek
- Broken braces bracket
- Loose braces wire
- Wire poking back of the mouth
- Popped out wire
- Chipped out tooth
2. Make a plan.
After identifying the area, make a plan for how you are going to apply the wax on the braces. If you do it, you can put the wax easily.
3. Evaluate if wax can do the work.
When you evaluate where you need to apply the wax, you may find that wax can’t work properly. Maybe, the damage is much more than you think of.
Apply the wax accordingly or use may need to switch to other methods to fix the issue.
4. Brush your teeth and clean the area.
The place where we will put the wax needs to be cleaned. If there is any food debris in the place then it will remain under the wax and later you will feel pain.
Not only that, but food particles will also damage your teeth. As a result, you will develop pain and sensitivity over time.
Brush your teeth thoroughly before you apply the wax on braces. Do flossing if needed. But whIle brushing or flossing with braces, you must be careful that you do not get hurt in the sore tooth.
Also, be aware of your braces or wire getting further damaged. That’s why you should use the correct method of brushing and flossing with braces on your teeth.
5. Dry the area.
If you do not dry the place where you want to put the wax, then the wax will not sit there well. Hold your cheek away from the area and let the air get into your mouth for a while.
It will dry the place. You can also use the cotton roll to dry it. But, it can get stuck with the wire or brackets and may cause further problems.
So, be careful. A better option can be to use a piece of tissue paper.
Step 3: Preparing the orthodontic wax
1. Wash your hands and dry them.
Since you use it in your mouth, you need to do the work as cleanly as possible. So, before putting your hands in the wax, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
Scrub your hands with water and soap at least for 20 seconds. If you put dirty hands in your mouth, bacteria and viruses can enter you and you can get various diseases.
It can be more harmful if you have a cut or ulcer in your mouth. After washing your hand, dry them off to prevent the wax from getting moist.
2. Pinch off a piece of wax.
Expose one end of wax from the packet or box. As it’s like a stick, pinch off a piece of its part with your fingers from one end.
Before picking up the wax, make sure you don’t take excess or less amount of the wax.
Taking too much wax leads to falling off the wax, whereas taking less wax results in having trouble covering up the area completely.
3. Squeeze to make it soften.
You need to make it softer as the piece is still a bit harder. By squeezing it in your hand it’ll get the heat from your hands. This helps make the wax soft. So, you can use it easily.
4. Make a roll.
Next, roll the wax between your fingers for f and make a ball. The size should be like a small pea or popcorn kernel. After that, you should make it a little flatter so that you can apply it nicely.
Step 4: Applying the dental wax on the braces
1. Expose the area.
Stand in front of a mirror. Hold your cheek or lips with one hand and move it away from the affected area in your mouth.
Expose the area as much as possible. If you think, the area is still moist, wait for a while to let the air enter your mouth to make it dry.
2. Put and press the wax in place.
Holding the cheek with one hand, take the wax ball that you made on the other hand. At first, touch the middle of the affected area with the wax.
Then, press it gently with your fingers so that it can expand its shape and spread in the whole area.
However, pushing it hard, can make the wax get pierced by the wire or bracket. So, be careful.
If you have to apply wax on the wire of the back bracket, you do it more cautiously. You can also use your tongue tip to place it in the right position.
3. Rub it in the area.
Try to make the surface smooth and spread it over the affected place. Make sure that it covers the whole area and forms a small bump. That means it should stick out a little.
4. Let it work and check if it’s ok.
Leave wax for a minute to get set in place. During this time, hold your cheek away from the wax, and don’t let it get moist.
Now, close your mouth and try to feel where the wax protects your cheek and gums from the braces and the wires.
After that, you will have no irritation and gradually you will get rid of the pain. But, if you are not satisfied, remove the wax or put more wax to solve the issue by redoing the process.
5. Replace the wax regularly until the problem is solved permanently.
Keep the wax in your mouth to prevent getting hurt. Change the wax two to three times a day or bacteria and plaque will get deposited around it.
When you see, the wax is getting loose, you should replace it with a new one. Otherwise, you can swallow it. Eat with the wax on the braces, if you get hurt during eating without wax on the braces.
But, you should replace it with a new piece of wax after each meal, because food makes it dirty. Before applying new dental wax on braces, clean your mouth properly.
However, during brushing your teeth, you should take off the wax to prevent wax from getting stuck in your toothbrush.
Never reuse the same piece of wax once you remove it from your mouth. It makes your mouth dirty.
How to remove dental wax from braces
As you have to replace the wax from time to time, you should know how to remove the wax. Normally, the wax wears off after some hours from itself.
But, if you want to remove it before that, you can do it easily.
1. Wash your hand.
Every time you insert your hand in your mouth, you must wash it with soap to prevent the germ from entering your body. So, wash your hands even when you have to remove the wax.
2. Use your finger to remove
Simply, use your thumb and forefinger to take the wax off.
3. Use a toothpick or dental floss
You may use regular dental floss or a toothpick if you can’t remove it completely with your fingers.
4. Rinse your mouth or brush your teeth
You can also rinse your mouth to remove the remaining wax from the teeth. Most of the time, you can remove it even before doing it.
Remove the wax after a meal, if you eat with the wax and brush your teeth after that. However, it’s important to remove most of the wax before you brush.
Otherwise, it will get caught in your toothbrush. Brushing or cleaning your teeth is important as you use a new piece of wax after removing the old one. So, you need to keep the area clean.
Applying an alternative to dental wax on braces
Dental silicon is a common and maybe the best alternative to orthodontic wax. You can buy this from a dental store or get it from your orthodontist.
This is available in strip form. The advantage of using it is you don’t have to change it more frequently like the dental wax, as structurally it’s more strong.
It can prevent the saliva and its chemical more to penetrate or damage its structure. However, the drawback of using it is you must dry it completely before you put it on your braces.
So, try it if you want. But, if you are not comfortable with it, use dental wax.
When do you need to make an appointment?
If you have broken braces or loose poking wires, putting wax can solve the problem temporarily. But, you must visit your orthodontist to get it to repair permanently.
But, even when pain persists after applying the wax on braces or you can’t fix it at home temporarily, you should make an appointment as early as possible.
Keep in mind that, if you feel continuous pain or the broken piece of braces keeps hurting you, you may face serious problems later. So, you must consult with your orthodontist about it over the phone.
However, to get rid of pain from braces, you may follow other techniques that you discussed in our other article.
Takeaways
You can apply orthodontic wax easily on broken braces, a painful tooth or, wires by gently putting a piece of wax over the area.
You need to remove it and apply a new piece of dental wax timely to maintain oral hygiene. However, you should visit your orthodontist to get a permanent solution if the problem persists.
