Choose a glossary:
Parts of Braces
- Appliance
- Anything your orthodontist attaches to your teeth that moves your teeth or changes the shape of your jaw.
- Archwire
- The metal wire that acts as a track to guide your teeth as they move. It is changed periodically throughout treatment as your teeth move to new positions.
- Band
- A metal ring that is cemented to your tooth that goes completely around it. Bands provide a way to attach brackets, tubes, or palatal expanders to your teeth.
- Bond
- The seal created by orthodontic cement that holds your appliances in place.
- Bracket
- A metal or ceramic part cemented (“bonded”) to your tooth that holds your archwire in place. It is the "handle" for each tooth.
- 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 a new position.
- Elastic Tie (O-Ring)
- The tiny rubber band that fits around your bracket to hold the archwire in place. They come in a variety of colors.
- Headgear
- Traditional Headgears use an external wire apparatus known as a facebow to guide the growth of your face and jaw gently 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. Protraction headgears (for underbites) are attached to the teeth with rubber bands.
- Headgear Tube
- A round, hollow attachment on your back bands. The inner bow of your headgear fits into it.
- Hook
- A welded extention or twisted wire on the bracket or removable arm 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.
- Palatal Expander
- A device that makes your upper jaw wider.
- 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. Also known as a ligature tie.
- Wax
- Wax is used to stop your braces from irritating your lips.
Orthodontic Procedures
- Banding
- The process of fitting and cementing orthodontic bands (metal rings) on your teeth.
- Bonding
- The process of attaching brackets (small square handles) to your teeth using special orthodontic cement.
- Cephalometric X-ray
- An X-ray of your head that shows the relative positions and growth of the face, jaws, and teeth.
- Consultation
- A meeting with your orthodontist to discuss a treatment plan. Also known as a treatment presentation.
- Debanding
- The process of removing cemented orthodontic bands from your teeth.
- Debonding
- The process of removing cemented orthodontic brackets from your teeth.
- Digital Scan
- The process of making a 3-Dimensional computer model of your teeth using a "wand" that takes multiple pictures of your teeth and "stitches" them together.
- Impressions
- A model of your mouth made by placing a tray filled with soft material over your teeth. The soft material hardens into a footprint of your teeth. Your orthodontist will use these impressions to prepare your treatment plan or fabricate an appliance.
- 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. Invisalign® is a name brand for aligners, like Kleenex® is a name brand for tissues.
- 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.
