Orthodontic Dictionary

Parts of Braces

• Ligature:
  A thin wire that holds your archwire into your bracket.
• Archwires:
  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.
• Brackets:
  A metal or ceramic part cemented (“bonded”) to your tooth that holds your archwire in place.
• Bands:
  A metal ring that is cemented to your tooth, going completely around it. Bands provide a way to attach brackets to your teeth.
• Hooks:
  A welded or removable arm to which elastics are attached.
• Headgear Tube:
  A round, hollow attachment on your back bands. The inner bow of your headgear fits into it.
• Elastic Hooks & Rubber Bands:
  A small rubber band that is hooked between different points on your appliance to provide pressure to move your teeth to their new position.
• Elastic Tie:
  The tiny rubber band that fits around your bracket to hold the archwire in place. They come in a variety of colors.
• Coil Spring:
  A spring that fits between your brackets and over your archwire to open space between your teeth.

Appliance:
Anything your orthodontist attaches to your teeth which moves your teeth or changes the shape of your jaw.
Bond:
The seal created by orthodontic cement that holds your appliances in place.
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.

Bonding:
The process of attaching brackets to your teeth using special orthodontic cement.
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.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.