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Our orthodontist sent an email several weeks ago letting us know that in addition to canceling/rescheduling all normal appointments, emergency repairs were not considered essential medical treatments under the shutdown orders. Any broken brackets, popped wires, etc. would just have to stay broken until this is all over.
Of course, I knew it was only a matter of time. Minifobette pops her wire out of its socket every couple of months. The first time it happened, I didn't really understand what was broken, and it was about a week before we got in to get it repaired. During that time, the wire tip and its spring were pressing into the soft tissue behind her molar, which grew up around it by several millimeters and ultimately required minor surgery and a lot of pain to have it cut loose again. The second time, I understood that it had to go back in immediately, but in the process of trying to just bend it gently enough to slip it back into place, I popped a whole bracket off her tooth--again, very painful, and again requiring more extensive repairs. Ever since then, the minute her wire pops out we go straight to the orthodontist and just sit in the waiting room until they can fit us in for a repair.
Anyway, sure enough, her wire popped out last night. Fortunately, it turns out that YouTube has lots of good videos about how to open different bracket styles and do a proper repair. And I did it! I opened all four lower brackets with a little tooth-cleaning hook, slid the wire out, slid it back into place on her molar, and closed all the brackets again.
I'm a certified orthodontist now!
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