Metal Mouth Message Board

Oops...I apparently swallowed a bracket while eating my dinner. It was an end molar bracket with a hook on it. I will call my ortho first thing on Monday to get it replaced...but is there any harm in swallowing something like this??

I agree with KK. My ortho said the same thing. There is no harm whatsoever in swallowing a bracket...it will just pass through.

The good news is that you were eating your dinner! I hope you had another couple of big pieces of bread with it!

I would call the ortho or a nurse, just to make sure. But if I were you, KK's post would have made me feel alot better and that is why I feel I can joke with you now.

Ugh...I think I swallowed a bracket on Saturday (remind me not to eat cheese straws again) as there is nothing attached to my last upper molar and the wire is alternating between floating in midair and jabbing into my tongue, making eating somewhat painful.

And to make matters worse, I'm stuck in a 3 day training course from today.

Lionfish You can cut the wire with a pair of nail sciossors or wire cutters to stop the wire annoying you, its simple to do and im sure your ortho wouldnt mind too much. If all else fails wax up ALOT.

Dark_angel wrote: Lionfish You can cut the wire with a pair of nail sciossors or wire cutters to stop the wire annoying you, its simple to do and im sure your ortho wouldnt mind too much. If all else fails wax up ALOT.

Thanks for the advice.

I've been waxing like crazy and managed to get an early morning appointment today, so in an hour's time I should be fine.

soooooooooo.... did the bracket come out ?

Thanks to all who offered advice or shared their personal experience with this type of situation!

As a newbie to braces, I was concerned that the swallowed bracket could have caused a problem in my digestive tract...only because of the hook on it. However, when I went to the ortho today to get a new bracket, the ortho asst told me not to worry about it. She said, just don't make a habit of it. Well...it wasn't like I intentionally swallowed the first one. I didn't know that it was MIA until I was brushing and flossing after dinner. Hopefully the new bracket is well attached...I don't want to swallow any more brackets...at least the ones with hooks...even though it is apparently OK if it does happen.

I had to laugh a little at this...this seems like one of the top 10 "oh no, what if this happens..." fears for braces! I hope all goes well in replacing this bracket!

wearetheborg wrote:soooooooooo.... did the bracket come out ?

Er, by the time I thought about "screening", um, you know what, it was probably too late. I suspect the errant bracket is now being mixed in an ocean current off the east coast of Oz. Unless some poor unsuspecting fish swallowed it...