How do you use wax for braces?

Orthodontic Wax

Orthodontic wax — is a plastic colorless mass based on beeswax or paraffin wax, which is used to temporarily cover the protruding parts of braces: locks, hooks, tips of the arch. It is usually sold in small plastic boxes of 5-6 strips each.

Wax is absolutely safe: it does not cause allergic reactions, is gradually dissolved by saliva and does not harm the digestive system.

Medicine wax — is a tasteless and odorless product, but some manufacturers add flavorings to make it more pleasant to use. The most popular — mint, which adds a pleasant freshness to the mouth, but you can also find strawberry, banana, pineapple and bubblegum flavors.

How to use orthodontic wax?

• Wash your hands with soap and brush your teeth with paste and brush;
• Cut off a piece of wax and roll a plastic ball out of it with your fingers;
• The place of the structure where you need to glue the wax, dry with a cotton swab;
• Glue the wax ball to the bracket or hook, so that the wax layer completely covers the protruding element, and hold it for a while so that the wax is fixed.
• Check that the structure does not rub the mucous membrane, if necessary, add more wax and glue other elements.

How to replace orthodontic wax?

You can buy orthodontic wax at any pharmacy or ask for it at your orthodontist's appointment.

There is no safe analog of orthodontic wax — ordinary wax or paraffin wax from candles, which may be at hand — it is a wax with an unknown composition. Chewing gum is also not suitable: the sugar in the composition is harmful to the enamel of the teeth. And even without sugar, too “sticky” mass can get stuck in the bracket structure and disrupt the work of the system.

For temporary use, it is possible to use a cotton disk or ordinary absorbent cotton, isolating the area of traumatized mucosa.

If the braces have already rubbed the mucosa, and you have not had time to wax, we recommend special pastes that promote mucosal healing, such as “Asepta” or “Solcoseryl”.