3M Unitek Wax-Pak Utility Wax, Appliance Coating
A soft utility wax used to coat brackets, wires or appliance components, helping to prevent tissue irritation for patients wearing fixed appliances.
Unitek Wax-Pak Utility Wax is a soft, pliable orthodontic wax given to patients or used chairside to cover sharp or protruding parts of a fixed appliance, such as a wire end, bracket edge or hook, that would otherwise rub against the cheek, lip or tongue and cause soreness. It is applied by pinching off a small piece, rolling it between the fingers to soften it, and pressing it directly over the area causing irritation, forming a temporary smooth barrier between the appliance and the soft tissue until the wax naturally wears away or is replaced.
This kind of comfort wax is one of the most commonly distributed take-home items in an orthodontic practice, given to nearly every new patient starting fixed appliance treatment as a first line solution for the soreness that often accompanies the early weeks of wearing braces or after an adjustment appointment that has activated new wire segments.
Because it needs to be reapplied periodically as it wears down or is dislodged during eating, practices typically send patients home with more than one piece and keep a supply on hand at the front desk for patients who run out or need extra wax between visits. This is a low-cost, high turnover comfort item in day to day orthodontic practice.
