In case of an emergency, please phone our office at 209-577-3792. If an emergency occurs in the evening or over the weekend our medical exchange will contact Dr. Heiner. In situations when Dr. Heiner is out of town, a staff member and local orthodontist will be on call to handle an emergency.

Please review the Parts of Your Braces section before calling our office. This will help us visualize what is broken or out of place if it can be correctly indentified

• Archwire: Wire running between braces which exerts pressure to move teeth.
  
• Band: A ring surrounding an anchor tooth in the back of the mouth.
  
• Bracket: A small stainless steel brace glued to the face of the tooth. The archwire passes through the slot of the bracket.
  
• Coil Spring: A small spring placed around the arch wire to either maintain or increase space between teeth.
  
• Elastic Tie: Clear, colored or silver "doughnut". These ties hold the wire in place.
  
• Expansion Appliance: An appliance placed in the palate used to expand the arch.
  
• Hook: A part of the bracket or band used for attachment of the rubber bands.
  
• Ligature Tie: A very thin wire wrapped around a bracket holding the archwire into its slot.
  
• Rubber Bands: A clear or colored band that is strung from the hooks between the upper and lower teeth.

Dr. Heiner will prescribe elastics, or rubber bands, to be worn as part of your treatment plan. Consistent elastic wear is very important to completing your orthodontic treatment on time. The elastics move your teeth in ways Dr. Heiner is not able to do with different wires. Without proper elastic wear it is unlikely we will be able to obtain the result you want.

Dr. Heiner and our clinical staff will instruct you on the proper way to hook your elastics. If you have any uncertainty, please call our office immediately. Do not wait until your next appointment to find out that the elastics may have been moving teeth in the wrong direction!

Elastics can be worn while eating, although it is not required. If you take them out before eating, be sure to replace them right away with fresh elastics. Elastics should be changed 3 to 4 times each day. They lose their stretch as they are left in your mouth during the day. Changing at meal time is a good idea.

Continuous wear is a must! Partial wear is the same as not wearing them at all. Remember to always have a pack with you at school, work, etc. If you run out of elastics, call our office right away. We can mail you some or tape a pack to our door if you can't come in during regular office hours. Waiting until your next appointment will delay your treatment.

You have been given a specific type of elastic to wear. Do not use any other type unless otherwise instructed. Also, do not double up the elastics unless otherwise instructed. This will not accelerate your treatment.

Many times our patients have worn their elastics as instructed and their treatment has finished on time or sooner. Help us achieve our number one goal, which is to give you the best smile possible!

Hawley Retainers
Trutain Retainers

In order to keep your teeth from moving after your braces are off, you will need to wear your retainers as instructed by Dr. Heiner. The following are some guidelines about retainer use:

• Wear your retainers as instructed by type of retainer. Hawley retainer wear requires full-time wear until otherwise instructed. Trutain retainers are worn as follows: if child, every night until the age of 21. Adults wear every night for 7 years, then 3 to 4 times per week to maintain straight teeth.
  
• Never wrap retainers in napkins or tissues and lay on table; it may accidentally get thrown away. When away from home for sleepovers or out to dinner it is okay to leave your retainers at home. ALWAYS keep them in your case.
  
• Remove retainers and clean thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water. Soaking retainers in vinegar, denture cleaner or other orthodontic appliance cleaner will help remove stains or tarter deposits. Never heat retainers in boiling water, place in a microwave, run them through a dishwasher or washing machine to "sterilize" them. They won't survive the abuse.
  
• When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in your retainer case. Animals, especially dogs, love to chew on them! Never place your retainer loose in your purse, backpack or place in your pocket. Cases are free, replacement retainers are not.
  
• Initially, you may find it difficult to speak. Practice speaking or reading out loud to get used to them faster. After several weeks of wear speech will adapt and return to normal.
  
• If at any time the retainers become loose, ill fitting, cause soreness to the mouth, or if you notice teeth becoming crooked, contact our office as soon as possible.
  
• There is a likelihood that teeth will slightly shift or settle immediately following treatment as the ligaments and bone holding the teeth firm in their new position. Retainers are designed to maintain the teeth in their corrected position, but teeth have the tendency to relapse even years after treatment has been completed. Rotations and shifting of the lower front teeth are the most common examples of changes through the normal aging process.
  
• Never "click" retainers in and out repeatedly. This will quickly damage wires, plastic or acrylic permanently. Call our office ASAP if your retainer becomes lost or broken. In order to avoid shifting of the teeth a new retainer must be made.
  
• Retainer replacement is expensive…..with proper care they will last years!