What happens if your bracket breaks and you don't go to the orthodontics right away?

Usually nothing: There usually isn't any complication, but you should get evaluated to not lose time in making progress in your orthodontic treatment.

Teeth shift: Sometimes it will be ok and other times your treatment could be delayed. Your teeth could shift enough that you can't progress to the next wire. In fact, you may have to decrease to a smaller wire. It's best to call the orthodontist and ask if you can wait or if the loose bracket should be fixed right away.

Teeth out of control: When a bracket breaks the tooth is no longer connected to the appliance that is controlling its movement. Although this may not be a true emergency, the patient should call as soon as possible to let the orthodontist decide when it needs to be repaired

EXTENDED TREATMENT: When a brace breaks, the tooth it was attached to is no longer being held by the braces and will start to move, this means the longer you wait the more it will move and may end up costing you more time in treatement to recapture its position.

Depends: Most of the time this is not a critical problem. A few days or even weeks will not matter much. However, if the brace is the last one in line, or terminal brace, it could be problematic. If it is a brace one attaches rubber bands to, it is a much more time sensitive matter. Use common sense, but give a call to the orthodontist at your earliest convenience.

Depends: A broken bracket generally leads to longer treatment time. If there are rubber bands being worn, an alastic chain closing space, then the forces involved may "squirt" the unattached tooth out of the arch. I have seen treatment extended as much as 6 months due to this going unattended for an extended period of time. Always check with your orthodontist to see what your particular situation is.

Oh, my: Can be anything fro an annoyance to severely displaced teeth extending your time in treatment. Contact your orthodontist asap to see how soon they want to see you to fix the problem. To shorten your time in braces, and to reduce the risk to the part of the tooth behind the braces, try to adjust your diet to avoid hard, sticky, and chewy foods.

All Depends: This depends on what you mean by "right away". In many instances, if you get back to the orthodontist within a few days, all will be fine. In some instances, the tooth w/o the bracket may move in a detrimental way . In all instances, it is best to contact the orthodontist to inquire the urgnecy about getting it fixed. He/she will know best.

Depends on..: What do you mean by "right away". A few days will typically pose no problem to your overall orthodontic treatment. Be sure to contact the general dentist or orthodontist who is performing this treatment so they may see you to fix the problem.

Treatment delay: When a bracket is no longer attached to the tooth, it can shift away from the rest of the arch, and result in unnecessarily increased treatment time. Your orthodontist will know how significant this problem will impact your treatment. Call him/her immediately.

Nothing or something: I have seen brackets off and patients disappear for 6 months with no effect. I have seen brackets come loose and the tooth shifted in 2 weeks. See your orthodontist soon

Depends...: On which bracket and what the orthodontist is doing at the time.

Go ASAP for help: The sooner the problem is corrected, the better the orthodontic treatment will flow and the sooner you are out of braces.