Orthodontics
- Parts of Your Braces
- Orthodontic Tools
- Orthodontic Procedures
- Other Dental and Orthodontic Gadgets and Materials
- Other Orthodontic Terms
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 make teeth move.
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.
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.
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.
Orothodontic 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 cut 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.
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 photographs: 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. 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.
Other dental and Orthodontic Gadgets and Materials
Acrylic: A plastic used to false teeth, retainers, and other dental products. Dental acrylic has been tested and thought to be perfectly safe.
Algenate: A plaster like compound used to take impressions. It tastes awful, but is safe.
Armamentarium: A general term for the dental chairs, lights and equipment used by your dentist or orthodontist.
Biomechanics: the relationship between the force you apply to living tissue such as teeth and gums and and how the tissue moves and changes
Biteplane: a removable appliance made of acrylic designed to open a deep bite.
Nickel Titanium or (NiTi): An especially strong orthodontic wire which allows for rapid tooth movement.
Other Orthodontic Terms
Archform: the shape of the dental arch. For example the orthodontist could say that you have a horseshoe archform or a "v"-shaped archform.
Closed bite: A malocclusion where your upper teeth cover your lower teeth when you bite down. This is also called a "deep bite."
Crossbite: A malocclusion where some of your upper teeth are inside of your lower teeth when you bite down.
Crowding: An orthodontic problem caused by having too many teeth in two small of a space.
Crown angulation: a tooth movement in which the root of the tooth is tipped forward or backward to correct the angle of the crown.
Crown inclination: a tooth movement in which the root of the tooth is tipped toward cheeks (lips) or toward the lingual (palate) of the mouth.
Deep bite: excessive overbite; closed bite.
Dentition: the arrangement of the teeth.
Diastema: a space between two teeth.
Drift: Unwanted movement of teeth.
Extrusion: Tooth movement in the direction of eruption. Natural extrusion: teeth grow until there is contact with another tooth. Mechanical extrusion: to pull the teeth so that it extends farther out of your gums.
Fixed appliance: any orthodontic component that is cemented or bonded to the teeth.
Flared teeth: A term used to indicate the position of the teeth. The upper teeth are flared lingually (toward the lip).
Full orthodontic treatment: Getting braces
Inclination: the angle of the long axis of a tooth from a particular line of reference; the tilt or tip of a tooth.
Interocclusal registration: a wax bite which is used to see how your teeth come together
Interproximal stripping: reduction of the enamel of the teeth on both sides of the tooth. This procedure is preformed to create space for crowded teeth.
Intrusion: movement of a tooth back into the bone.
Lingual appliances: orthodontic appliance fixed to the inside of your teeth. i.e. Lingual appliances are attached to the part of your teeth next to your tongue.
Lingual arch: An orthodontic wire attached from molar to molar in the inside of your teeth.
Lingual retainers: a variation of the lingual arch going from cuspids to cuspid.
Malocclusion: Poor positioning of your teeth.
Class I Malocclusion: A Malocclusion where your bite is OK (your top teeth line up with your bottom teeth) but your teeth are crooked, crowded or turned.
Class II Malocclusion: A Malocclusion where your upper teeth stick out past your lower teeth. This is also called an "overbite" or "buck teeth"
Class III Malocclusion: A Malocclusion where your lower teeth stick out past your upper teeth. This is also called an "underbite".
Occlusion: The alignment and spacing of your upper and lower teeth when you bite down.
Proper Occlusion: A beautiful smile where all of your teeth are straight and your top teeth line up with your bottom teeth
Open bite: A malocclusion in which the teeth do not close or come together in the front of your mouth
Orthodontics: The treatment preformed to correct your bite and make your smile look wonderful.
Orthodontist: A dentist who has been specially trained to do orthodontics.
Orthodontia: Braces
Overbite: vertical overlapping of the upper teeth over the lower.
Overjet: horizontal projection of upper teeth beyond the lower.
Retruded: a term used when your front teeth are slated lingually (i.e. toward the back of your mouth).
Rotation: a movement in which the tooth turned along the long axis of the tooth.
Spee: the curve of spee is the curvature of the occlusal plane of the teeth.
Stop: a bend or auxiliary attachment placed on a wire to limit the archwire from sliding or moving in the bracket slot of the bracket.
Tipping: a tooth movement in which the root of the tooth is tipped labially (lip) or lingually (tongue) to correct the angle of the crown of the tooth.
Torque: the rotation of a tooth on the long axis moving the root of the tooth in a buccal or labial direction.
Tracing (cephalometric): an overlay drawing traced over a cephalometric x-ray that shows specific structures and landmarks that provided a basis for orthodontic therapy.
Traction: the act of drawing or pulling the teeth.
Translation: a tooth movement in which the entire tooth moves forward or backward without tipping or rotating.
Typodont: A plastic model of a typical mouth, showing the alignment of teeth. A typodont is used to teaching orthodontic procedures.