Glossary

To help you understand what is happening during treatment, it may be helpful to learn about the parts of your braces and different orthodontic procedures.

Choose a Glossary:

• Parts of Braces
• Orthodontic Procedure

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Parts of Braces

Appliance: Anything your orthodontist attaches to your teeth, which moves your teeth or changes the shape of your jaw.

Archwire: The metal wire that acts as a track to guide your teeth along as they move. It is changed periodically throughout treatment as your teeth move to their new positions.

Band: A metal ring that is cemented (glued) to your tooth, going completely around the tooth. Bands provide a way to attach brackets to your teeth. Each tooth has its own shape and size. The bands are selected from a range of sizes. The aim is to select the tightest fitting band.
Bracket: Commonly known as 'braces'. A metal or ceramic part cemented ("bonded") to your tooth that holds your archwire in place.

Coil Spring: A spring that fits between your brackets and over your archwire to open space between your teeth.

Elastic (Rubber Band): A small rubber band that is hooked between different points on your appliance to provide pressure to move your teeth to their new position. This type of rubberband will help your teeth fit together properly.

Elastic Tie: The tiny rubber band that fits around your bracket to hold the archwire in place. They come in a variety of colors.

Expander: A device that makes your upper jaw wider.

Impressions: Study models of your teeth are sometimes necessary for developing the appropriate treatment plan for your case. We also take impressions to make retainers and other types of appliances needed during your treatment.

Headgear: Headgear uses an external wire apparatus known as a facebow to gently guide the growth of your face and jaw by moving your teeth into proper position. The force is applied to the facebow by a spring-loaded neck strap or head strap. The straps have a safety release that disconnects if the facebow is pulled or snagged.

Headgear Tube: A round, hollow attachment on your back bands. The inner bow of your headgear fits into it.

Hook: A welded or removable arm on your brackets to which elastics are attached.

Ligature: A thin wire that holds your archwire into your bracket.

Lip Bumper: A lip bumper is an archwire attached to a molded piece of plastic. The lip bumper holds back the molars on your lower jaw to provide more space for your other teeth.

Mouthguard: A device that protects your mouth from injury when you participate in sports or rigorous activities.

Retainer: An appliance that is worn after your braces are removed, the retainer attaches to your upper and/or lower teeth to hold them in place. Some retainers are removable, while others are bonded to the tongue-side of several teeth.

Separator or Spacer: A small rubber ring that creates space between your teeth before the bands are attached.

Tie Wire: A fine wire that is twisted around your bracket to hold the archwire in place.

Wax: Wax is used to stop your braces from irritating your lips.

Orthodontic Procedure

Banding: The process of fitting and cementing orthodontic bands to your teeth.

Bonding: The process of attaching brackets to your teeth using special orthodontic cement. A light is used to make the material strong.

Cephalometric X-ray: An x-ray of your head which shows the relative positions and growth of the face, jaws, and teeth.

Consultation: A meeting with your orthodontist to discuss a treatment plan.

Debanding: The process of removing cemented orthodontic bands from your teeth.

Debonding: The process of removing cemented orthodontic brackets from your teeth.

Impressions: The process of making a model of your teeth by biting into a soft material that hardens into a mold of your teeth. Your orthodontist will use these impressions to prepare your treatment plan.

Invisalign®: An alternative to traditional braces, Invisalign straightens your teeth with a series of clear custom-molded aligners. Invisalign can correct some, but not all, orthodontic problems.

Ligation: The process of attaching an archwire to the brackets on your teeth.

Panoramic X-ray: An x-ray that rotates around your head to take pictures of your teeth, jaw, and other facial areas.

Phase I Treatment: Interceptive orthodontic treatment. The goal of Phase I Treatment is to decrease the severity of dental problems that may develop prior to full orthodontic correction. When a patient needs early treatment they will typically need a Phase 2 when deemed necessary by the doctor.

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