Arch Wire

The archwire is fastened to all of the brackets and creates force to move teeth into proper alignment.

 

Ligature

The archwire is held to each bracket with a ligature, which can either be a tiny rubber band or a twisted wire.

 

Brackets

Brackets are connected to the bands, or directly bonded on the teeth, and hold the archwire in place.

 

Occasionally, a bracket may come loose and become an irritation to your mouth. You can remove the loose bracket and save it in an envelope to bring to the office. Call our surgery as soon as possible and make an appointment to re-glue the bracket.

 

Metal Band

The band is a ring of metal which is often used to wrap around some of the back teeth when greater strength is required.

 

Elastic Hooks & Rubber Bands

Elastic hooks are used for the attachment of rubber bands, which help move teeth toward their final position.

 

Separator

A plastic or rubber donut piece which the dentist uses to create space between your teeth for bands.

 

Functional Appliances

These are used to help modify the growth of the jaws in children. The theory behind their action is that if you hold a jaw in a specific position long enough, that it will grow into that position. What you usually get is a combination of a little jaw growth with a lot of tooth movement. These are not universally accepted, as they do not always work.

 

The first of these appliances were removable and are still very popular. They are made of plastic and wire. Some of their names are Frankel, Bionator, and Twin-block. A different style is actually fixed to the teeth and uses a spring action to hold the jaw into position. These have names like Herbst and Jasper Jumper.

 

Headgear

Often called a “night brace”. The headgear is used to correct a protrusion of the upper or lower jaw. It works by inhibiting the upper jaw from growing forward, or the downward growth of the upper jaw or even by encouraging teeth to move forward, if that is the case.

 

Malocclusion

Poor positioning of the teeth.

 

Types of Malocclusion:

Class I - the bite is OK (the top teeth line up with the bottom teeth) but the teeth are crooked, crowded or turned.

 

Class II - the upper teeth stick out past the lower teeth.

 

Class III - the lower teeth stick out past the upper teeth. This is also called an "underbite".