Our patients field us TONS of great questions, many of which deserve to be reviewed in detail on our website blog. Here’s a good one we have been asked recently: “I have an upcoming MRI scan. I’m wearing traditional metal braces… are they safe for the scan? Do I need to get them removed?”
For most instances of MRI scanning, your metal orthodontic braces will NOT have any adverse effect on the scanning procedure and what the scan is trying to capture. Nevertheless – let’s jump in and explore some of the specifics!
About MRI Scans and MRI Technology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to produce detailed pictures of the inside of your body. MRI scans may be used to help diagnose or monitor treatment for a variety of conditions within the brain, chest, abdomen, and extremities.
While a person may be a candidate for an MRI scan at ANY age, there is crossover during the adolescent years of under-going orthodontic treatment …. and needing to undergo an MRI scan. MRI scans are incredibly useful in during pre-and-peak pubertal years for diagnosing everything from growth abnormalities to heart problems to trauma from intense physical activity, like sports play.
Minding Your Metal
So, you need to under-go an MRI scan, and the radiologist has lectured “pre-procedure” that anything metal cannot come into the exam room, so as to not interfere with the magnetic field of the MRI unit. That means no jewelry, piercings, belts, pants with a zipper, coins and credit cards in a wallet, and so forth. “Makes sense.”
“But… I’m also also wearing metal orthodontic braces (or possibly a metal expander, or a fixed retainer, OR – maybe metal buttons for Invisalign rubber bands?)” … what’s to be done about that?
Fret not! MOST of the time, fixed, non-removable orthodontic appliances should NOT prevent you from under-going a needed MRI scan. Most contemporary orthodontic appliances are made from non-magnetic or very weak magnetic material like stainless steel, titanium, or chromium cobalt alloy. These materials generally DO NOT pose a risk to your health and well-being while undergoing an MRI scan. If the scan is to be for a part of your body like your abdomen or your legs, you’re good to go; a “safe procedure.”
If your head, face or neck is being scanned for the procedure, the potential exists for the material of the orthodontic appliances to cause bits of image distortion (called ‘artifacts’) that MAY limit what the radiologist can see and ascertain from the images. Therefore, some radiologists ask that orthodontic appliances be removed for MRI scans of the head and neck. If this is the case, your orthodontic appliances will be removed to accommodate the MRI scan. After the scan, your appliances will be replaced.
Skilled radiology has improved greatly over the years (much like orthodontia has) to accommodate better quality scans on patients with fixed orthodontic appliances (and other metal appliances that may go into a human body, like a pacemaker) but – it’s still wise to inform your doctor and the radiologist that you have fixed, non-removable appliances prior to your treatment. They’ll be able to give you counsel on techniques and technology they can use so distortion in the image is minimized… and hopefully avoided all together!
What About REMovable appliances?
If you’re wearing Invisalign ‘invisible’ aligners (made of a thermoplastic material called polyurethane resin) they should not have an adverse effect on an MRI scan. You will likely be asked to remove them… make sure they’re ‘secure in their case, then returned to your face’ once the scan is completed. Same protocol with a removable retainer.
Prepping for a Scan? We’ll Help You Plan
Keep Koch Orthodontics in the loop if you (or your child in treatment) are planning to undergo an MRI scan. We want to make sure we’re on the same page as your radiologist to make sure you’re both at ease during your procedure, and that your orthodontic treatment can stay on track with no impediments!
Questions about orthodontic care or oral health in general? Contact us through our website or call us at (585) 243-3174.
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