Glossary

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 which is placed on your teeth to anchor 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 outside of a molar bank. The buccal tube contains 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 move teeth.

Facebow, Headgear
Facebows are wire apparatuses 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 consists 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 orthodontist 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

Separator
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

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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 your 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 used 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

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Orthodontic Procedures

Acid etch
A procedure where a weak acid is 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

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Dental and orthodontic gadgets and materials not mentioned elsewhere

Acrylic
A plastic used to make 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

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 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

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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 the 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 on the inside of your teeth. Lingual retainers are 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 slanted 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 provide 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 teach orthodontic procedures

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