What Precautions Should Orthodontics Patients take During Coronavirus Pandemic?

 

Special Precautions for Orthodontic Patients during new Coronavirus Epidemic

At the beginning of the new year, the situation of China's new type of coronavirus epidemic prevention and control is severe, and many provinces and cities across the country have initiated first-level responses to major public health emergencies. So, in this special period, what are the points of special attention for orthodontic patients? In this column, let's talk about the matters needing special attention for orthodontic patients during the epidemic of the new coronavirus.

Reduce outings and postpone return visits

First of all, we strongly urge everyone to respond to the national call to minimize unnecessary outings before the crisis of the new coronavirus epidemic is resolved, maintain indoor air circulation, and avoid population gatherings and New Year holidays.
When you have to go out, you must take personal protection, bring a mask, gloves and goggles to avoid staying in densely populated public places.

Cover your mouth and nose with tissues or elbows when sneezing or coughing, and properly dispose of used tissues, masks, wash your hands, and disinfect. Do not touch your face with dirty hands.

In general, patients receiving orthodontic treatment need regular follow-up visits every 4-6 weeks to monitor tooth movements and necessary adjustments. Orthodontic treatment that does not require regular review is a hooligan.

Due to the particularity of oral treatment, high-speed turbine mobile phones used in dental hospitals and clinics will produce a large amount of water mist, droplets and aerosols when working. During this special epidemic period, dental hospitals and clinics have become high-risk places.

 If patients in the incubation period receive oral treatment without knowing it, it will easily cause the epidemic to spread rapidly. Here, we would like to tell the majority of orthodontic patients that orthodontic treatment is not an emergency, and occasionally delaying the return visit will not have a significant and irreversible impact on the treatment.

During this special period, orthodontic patients should maintain close contact with the attending physician and pay attention to the doctor's outpatient visit schedule.

If there is no special situation requiring urgent treatment, the follow-up consultation can be postponed as appropriate. The doctor will inform the precautions during the post-referral period according to the specific circumstances. 

If you have to return to the hospital due to special circumstances, you should do a good job of personal protection and actively inform the doctor about the travel history, contact history, and whether there are symptoms of cough, fever, chest tightness, and dyspnea.

Don't panic if you have suspected symptoms. You should take the initiative to go to a designated medical institution for a fever clinic to protect yourself, as well as protect medical staff and other patients.

 Balanced nutrition, do not bite hard objects

Adolescents and children are at the peak of their growth and development. During this special epidemic period, they should pay more attention to nutritional supplements, balanced diets, and improve their body resistance, laying a solid foundation for defeating the virus.

When eating boned meat such as pork ribs, chicken wings, chicken legs, etc., you should not use the incisors directly to "kick", but you should eat the meat directly after deboning.
Eat hard candy, you should not bite directly, but should slowly contain.

When eating apple, pear, jujube and other nucleated fruits, they should be cut into small pieces after pitting and eat with bite. When eating, you should chew slowly and avoid swallowing.

If you feel a hard object against the bracket ("tooth nail", "nail nail", "steel tooth"), you should stop immediately to avoid getting into the hard object, which may cause the bracket is accidentally dropped.
In addition, you should chew evenly the left and right posterior teeth when eating.

If you chew one side of the tooth for a long time, it may cause the wire in the bracket to slip to one side, irritating the oral mucosa, and in extreme cases, facial deflection may occur. And other serious consequences. As long as you have mastered these "tips" on eating, you can also be a happy "eating" during the epidemic of the new coronavirus! Of course, I hope everyone cherishes life and rejects wild animals.
Treatment of Orthodontics Patients and Coronavirus

Pay attention to hygiene and brush your teeth carefully

New coronaviruses can be transmitted not only by droplets but also by contact. If you touch an item that is contaminated with a virus, you have a wound on your hand, or you have contact with your eyes, ears, or nose, you may cause an infection.
Therefore, orthodontic patients must pay special attention to hand hygiene during this special period.

Before wearing or removing appliances such as orthotics, hanging elastic rubber bands, or applying orthodontic protective wax, be sure to wash hands carefully with disinfectant hand sanitizer.

It should be less than 15 seconds, which is the time to sing "Happy Birthday Song" at least continuously. Mobile appliances, invisible braces, etc. must be rinsed daily with water, and disinfected regularly with clean effervescent tablets.

The epidemic of the new coronavirus coincides with the Spring Festival. Everyone responded to the call to stay at home. Naturally, "eat, eat, eat" is unavoidable. Please keep in mind that whether orthodontic patients are eating or snacking, they should brush their teeth in time after eating. 
When brushing, you should use a toothbrush to circle around each bracket or each correction accessory to ensure that each bracket and each side of the accessory can be thoroughly cleaned. Each brushing time is not less than three minutes. In addition, you can use interdental brushes, dental floss, electric toothbrushes and mouthwashes to better maintain oral hygiene. Try to avoid having to go to the hospital because of food residues and plaque accumulation that cause acute gingivitis and pulpitis.

Handling of emergencies

Pain

After the orthodontic treatment is revisited, the teeth will have a certain degree of pain, which is normal. Each child has different levels of sensitivity to pain, and each child has different personality habits, so different children may have completely different descriptions of the same pain. A brave and strong baby may say "no pain at all", while a usually weak baby may tearfully tell you "it has never been so painful".

Under normal circumstances, no painkillers or special treatments are needed, and there will be obvious relief within 3-7 days. When a child feels a toothache, they are often unwilling to bite hard foods, and their appetite may decrease. Parents can let their children eat soft foods such as noodles, tofu, porridge, and yogurt.

After all, children are at the peak of growth and development, especially in this special period, because the impact of orthodontic health on the body is not worth the loss.

Under normal circumstances, the pain in the orthodontic process is within the range that the child can tolerate, and the parents do not need to worry too much. If unbearable pain does occur, contact your doctor in time for necessary treatment.

Steel wire mouth, mucosal ulcer

In the process of orthodontic treatment, some patients will have wire mouth, mouth ulcers and so on. This is because under the action of the orthodontic force of the wire, the teeth slowly move along the wire, and the wire may slip out of the final bracket and poke into the oral mucosa. Some patients use excessive force or incorrect methods when brushing their teeth.

Will cause the small wire around the bracket to shift, lift or even fall off; some patients like to chew food with unilateral posterior teeth, which may also cause the wire in the bracket to slip. All of the above conditions may cause the mouth of the steel wire to ulcer and the oral mucosa.

How can we avoid these situations as much as possible? First of all, try to avoid eating too hard food to avoid distortion of the appliance, and pay attention to the use of bilateral posterior teeth to chew to minimize the abnormal sliding of the wire.

In addition, you should pay attention to the methods when brushing your teeth to avoid the small wire on the bracket from shifting.
If this is the case, you may need to use orthodontic mucosal protective wax to apply the wire to the mouth to make the mouth smooth. If the spouting situation still cannot be alleviated, you can temporarily cover the chewing gum with the chewing wire and contact the doctor to see if it needs to be treated.

Keep in mind that you must not use "violence" to forcibly tear down the wire because of pain. This may not only affect the treatment effect, but also cause accidental damage to the oral and maxillofacial tissue.

Bracket Loosening

If the bracket accidentally comes loose, the bracket should be removed immediately to prevent accidental swallowing, and the dropped bracket should be stored and handed over to the doctor for re-adhesion at the next consultation.

If the bracket is still connected to the wire and cannot be removed, you can cover it with a mucosal protective wax or gum to prevent damage to the oral mucosa, and contact your doctor to arrange a rebond bracket.

Finally, we pay tribute to the workers who are struggling in the anti-virus field in all walks of life, and look forward to your triumph! I hope that everyone can always maintain a healthy body and a happy mood during the special period of the new coronavirus epidemic. As a Sichuanese, Dr. Yin will never forget the selfless help the people gave us during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. A difficult one, P Plus support.

It is hopeful that everyone will compare their hearts and treat the "wandering" Wuhan people and Hubei people who are "hard to return home" in various places.
Do not discriminate or even demonize them. As one netizen said, we can't "cry Wuhan on the Internet to cheer, but in reality we shouted to Wuhan people." I hope everyone will be united and overcome difficulties!


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