Page 124 - REMOVABLE ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCES

116 Removable Orthodontic Appliances

Figure A.IO

appliance may then be tried in the mouth and procedure is useful where the retention
the added acrylic gently shaped with the provided by other wires is fairly good and
fingers to the correct level, so that the lower especially when the appliance is not going to be
incisors have an even contact. The rest of the worn for much longer.
curing may be completed in warm water. Broken springs may be fairly easily dealt
with. The remains of the spring are cut away
and a recess drilled into the fitting surface of
Wire fractures the acrylic baseplate. A replacement spring
may be bent up and embedded into this space
It is occasionally possible to carry out a using a small amount of cold-cured acrylic. In
soldered repair to an Adams' clasp if a fracture the case of a palatal finger spring the presence
has occurred at the tip of the arrowhead, of a guard wire will help to hold the new spring
although this is an unusual place for a break in place during this procedure.
unless the wire has been overworked during
construction. The arrowhead should be
cleaned, fluxed and flushed with solder (Figure References
A.IO). Other attempts to repair a broken clasp
are rarely worthwhile and replacement is Kerr, W.J.S. (1984) Appliance breakages. British Journal of
usually the more sensible option. Orthodontics, 11: 137-142
On occasion, a clasp that has broken where
the wire crosses the embrasure may be cut
away to leave one intact arrowhead, which can Further reading
be pinched closed with a pair of pliers so that
no sharp end remains. The arrowhead may be Munns, D. (1971) An analvsis of broken removable appli-
adjusted to provide some retention. This ances. Proceedings BSSO. 45-48