Ortho Dictionary
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 to your tooth, going completely around it. Bands provide a way to attach brackets 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.
Coil Spring: A spring that fits between your brackets and on your archwire to open space between your teeth.
Elastics (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. Patients will need to place elastics and will need to change them periodically throughout the day.
Forsus: Forsus is an alternative to elastics or rubber bands for correction of “overbites”. The appliance does not require patient cooperation and does not need be changed throughout the day to be effective.
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 upper back bands. The inner bow of your headgear fits into it.
Hook: A welded or removable arm to which elastics are attached.
Ligature: A thin wire that holds your archwire into your bracket.
Module: The tiny rubber band that fits around your bracket to hold the archwire in place. They come in a variety of colors.
Mouthguard: A device that protects your mouth from injury when you participate in sports or rigorous activities.
Palatal Expander (Hyrax): A device that makes your upper jaw wider.
Quad Helix: Quad Helix is an appliance that expands the upper dental arch. It is activated by Dr. Vossers at regular appointments.
Space maintainers (LLHA and Band & Loop): These devices are used to hold space for permanent teeth when primary (baby) teeth are lost early.
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. The two types are clear retainers and acrylic retainers.
Separator or Spacer: A small rubber ring that creates space between your teeth before the bands are attached.
Wax: Wax is used to stop your braces from irritating your lips.
X-bow: X-bow is an appliance that is an alternative to headgear to get bite correction. This appliance does not require patient cooperation.
Orthodontic Procedures
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.
Cephalometric X-ray (Ceph): 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(Panorex,Pan): An x-ray that rotates around your head to take pictures of your teeth, jaw, and other facial areas.