Parts Of Your Braces

Appliance
Anything the orthodontist attaches to your teeth to move your teeth or to change the shape of your jaw

Arch Wire
A metal wire which is attached to your brackets to move your teeth.

Band
a metal ring that is usually placed on you teeth to hold on parts of your braces

Bracket
A metal or ceramic part that is glued onto a tooth and serves as a means of fastening the arch wire.

Breakaway
A breakaway is a small plastic piece with an internal spring which is used to provide force on a facebow.

Buccal tube
A small metal part that is welded on the ourside of a molar bank. The buccal tube contains a slots to hold archwires, lip bumpers, facebows and other things your orthodontist uses to move your teeth.

Chain, Orthodontic Chain
A stretchable plastic chain used to hold archwires into brackets and to moke teeth.

Facebow, Headgear
Facebows are wire apparatus used to move your upper molars back in your mouth which creates room for crowded or protrusive anterior teeth. Generally, the facebow consists of two metal parts which have been attached together. The inner part is shaped like a horseshoe. This part goes in your mouth and is connected to your buccal tubes. The outer part has two curves. The curves go around your face, and connect to the breakaways or high pull headgear. To properly use the product, the inner bow needs to be inserted into your buccal tubes. An elastic neck band is placed around the back of the neck while the triangular cast offs on both sides of neck band are attached to the outer bow of the headgear. Completing the apparatus is a plastic safety strap that is placed over the neck band and onto the outer bow of the headgear.

Ligating module
A small plastic piece, shaped like a donut, which is used to hold the arch wires in the brackets on your teeth.

Lip bumper
A lip bumper is used to push the molars on your lower jaw back to create more space for other teeth. The lip bumper conists of an arch wire which is attached to a molded piece of plastic. You mount the arch wire in the buccal tubes on your lower jaw, and plastic piece rests against your lips. When you eat or talk, you push the plastic piece back which pushes on your molars. That pushes your molars back.

Mouthguard
A device that is used to protect your mouth from injury when you are participating in sports. The use of a mouthguard is especially important for orthodontic patients, to prevent injuries.

Neck pad
A neckpad is a cloth covered cushion which you wear around your neck when you put on your facebow. Generally, the breakaways are attached to the neckpad to provide force for the facebow.

Niti Spring
Nitinol coil spring helps in the correction of skeletol jaw problem (increase the length of the jaw in young patient)

Palatal Expander
A device used to make your jaw wider

Retainer
A gadget that the orthodontist gives you to wear after the orthodntist removes your braces. The retainer attaches to your upper teeth and holds them in the correct position. You wear the retainer at night to make sure that none of your teeth move while your jaw hardens and your teeth get strongly attached to
your jaw.

Safety Strap
A plastic strap which prevents a facebow from coming loose and hurting you.
Seperator
A plastic or metal part which the orthodontist uses to create space between your teeth for bands.

Wax
A clear wax used to prevent your braces from irritating your lips when your braces are first put on, or at other times.

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The Orthodontist's Tools

Band Remover
A special plier which the orthodontist uses to remove bands from your teeth

Bite Stick
A device the orthodontist uses to help put on your bands. The orthodontist puts the band in place, then asks you to bite down on the bite stick to help push the band in place.

Cephalometric Viewer
An x-ray viewer

Cheek retractors
Small plastic pieces used to draw back your lips and cheeks so the orthodontist can more easily see you teeth and work in your mouth.

Curing Light
A special UV light used to help attach brackets to your teeth

Distal End Cutter
A special plier used to cut off the ends of your arch wires.

Explorer
a hook-like fine pointed instrument used in examining the teeth.

Interproximal Stripper
A device used to remove some of the enamel from the spaces between your teeth. The stripper is used to create extra space for crowded teeth.

Mathieu Plier
A special plier which locks when it closes so it holds on to small parts.

Pin and Ligature Cutter
A special plier use to cur off arch wires, ligatures etc.

Scaler
A tool with a curved hook on one end. The orthodontist uses the scaler to remove excess cement, and check for gaps.

Twirl On
A device used to help place ligating modules on brackets.

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Orthodontic Procedures

Acid etch
A procedure where a weak acid smeared on your teeth to ready your teeth for brackets. The acid etch helps your brackets stay on better.

Banding
the process of cementing orthodontic bands to your teeth

Bonding
the process of attaching brackets to your teeth using a special safe glue

Cephalometric X-Rays
An x-ray of the head that shows whether your teeth are aligned properly, and whether they are growing properly.

The Consultation
A meeting with your orthodontist where he discusses your treatment plan

Debanding
the removal of cemented orthodontic bands.

Debonding
The removal of the brackets from your teeth

Extraoral photograph
facial photos

Impressions
The first step in making a model of your teeth. You bite into a container filled with algenate, and the algenate hardens to produce a mold of your teeth.

Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment
Orthodontic treatment usually done when you are 6-8. The objective of interceptive orthodontic treatment is to expand your palate and make other corrections, so that your later orthodontic treatment goes quicker and is
less painful.

Ligation
A process where an archwire is attached to the brackets on your teeth.

Ligating
An adjective used to describe components used to attach archwires to brackets. For example a ligating module is a small plastic piece that goes over the brackets to hold in your archwires.

Panoramic x-ray
An x-ray taken by a machine that rotates around your head to give the orthodontist a picture of your teeth, jaws and other important information.

The records appointment
One of the initial appointments with your orthodontist. The orthodontist or his/her assistant takes pictures of you, x-rays, and impressions so that they can figure out what treatment needs to be done.

Tightening your braces
A process which occurs every 3-6 weeks when you have braces. You go into the orthodontist's office and the orthodontist's assistant either makes adjustments to the wires in your braces, or changes the wires.

Wax bite
A procedure to measure how well your teeth come together. You bite a sheet of wax and leave bitemark in the wax. The orthodontist looks at the bitemarks to see how well your teeth are aligned.