THE TRAIN AND ITS TRACKS

Braces are made up from 2 main components:

BRACKETS which are stuck or bonded on to the teeth, and serve to hold the wires in place.

ARCHWIRES or wires (tracks) that slot through the brackets and exert their force on the teeth by gently pulling them into the required position.

There is very little wire bending these days in orthodontics since the discovery that wires have ‘memory’ and always try to go back to their original arched position, hence these clever wires do a lot of the work themselves. Other shorter wires may need to be added and manipulated at various stages of treatment to get the correct finish.

Other Components that may be used in Braces:

Depending on the type of brace you choose and your orthodontic needs you may encounter some more bits.

BANDS that may be applied around your back teeth to help hold the archwires in place. If required these may take 2 visits to place, as we have to create a gap between the teeth for them to fit, we do this by placing small elastic separators between the teeth for a few days. Thanks to modern technology and advancement in adhesives, bands are needed less and less.

ELASTIC TIES that are placed over certain types of brackets (non-ligating brackets) to hold the arch wire in place.These are popular among younger patients as they can pick and change the colour of the elastic at each visit.

PICK YOUR COLOUR ELASTICS NOW

ELASTIC BANDS may be fitted between certain teeth to exert pressure at points where it is required.

A HOOK on archwire may be used to close spaces after extraction.

A BONDED TUBE is a small attachment that holds the archwire in place.