Glossary of Orthodontic Terms and Procedures

Appliance – any item that is attached to the teeth by the orthodontist to move the teeth or change the shape of the jaw.

Arch Wire – A metal wire attached to your brackets to move the teeth.

Band – A metal ring placed on the teeth to hold parts of the braces.

Bracket – metal or ceramic part that is glued onto a tooth and serves as a means of fastening the arch wire.

Breakaway – a small plastic piece with an internal summer used to provide force on a facebow.

Buccal Tube – small metal part that is welded to the outside of a molar bank and contains a slot to hold archwires, lip bumpers, and facebows.

Orthodontic Chain – stretchable plastic chain used to hold archwires into brackets.

Facebow and Headgear – a facebow is a wire apparatus used to move uppers molars back to make room for crowded front teeth. Headgear is the part of the total apparatus.

Ligating Module – small plastic piece that is used to hold the arch wires in the brackets on the teeth.

Lip Bumper – used to push the molars on the lower jaw back to create more space for other teeth.

Mouthguard – a device used to protect the mouth from injury during sports activities.

Neck Pad – used in conjunction with the facebow.

Palatal Expander – device used to make the jaw wider.

Retainer – used while sleeping after braces are removed to ensure that none of the teeth move while the jaw hardens.

Seperator – a plastic or metal part that is used to create space between the teeth for bands.

Wax – used to prevent the braces from irritating the lips.

Orthodontic Procedures

Acid Etch – weak acid is smeared on the teeth to make them ready for brackets and to help the brackets stay on better.

Banding – process of cementing bands to the teeth.

Bonding – process of attaching brackets to the teeth using a special glue.

Cephalometric X–rays – a head x–ray that shows if the teeth are aligned properly and if they are growing correctly.

Consultation – a meeting with the orthodontist to discuss the treatment plan.

Debanding – removal of cemented orthodontic bands.

Debonding – removal of the brackets from the teeth.

Impressions – making a mold of the teeth. A bite impression is taken in a container filled with a substance that hardens to produce a mold of the teeth.

Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment – usually performed when a child is 6–8 years of age to expand the palate and make other necessary corrections. This makes future orthodontic treatment go much quicker and less painful.

Ligation – process where an archwire is attached to the brackets on the teeth.

Ligating – components used to attached archwires to brackets.

Records Appointment – an initial appointment to determine what treatment needs to be done. X–rays, pictures of the individual and impressions are usually performed.

Tightening The Braces – process which usually occurs every 3–6 weeks. Adjustments are made to the wires in the braces or the wires are changed.

Wax Bite – biting on a sheet of wax to determine how well your teeth come together.

Additional Orthodontic Terms

Archform – the shape of the dental arch.

Closed Bite – during the biting process where upper teeth cover lower teeth.

Cross Bite – during the biting process, some of the upper teeth are inside the lower teeth.

Crowding – having too many teeth in to small a space.

Crown Angulation – tooth movement where the root of the tooth is tipped forward or backward to correct the angle of the crown.

Crown Inclination – tooth movement where the root of the tooth is tipped toward the cheeks, lips or toward the palate of the mouth.

Deep Bite – excessive overbite.

Interproximal Stripping – reduction of the enamel on the tooth to create space for crowded teeth.

Malocclusion – poor positioning of the teeth.

Class I Malocclusion – a condition where the bite is okay, but teeth are crooked, crowded or turned.

Class II Malocclusion – a condition where upper teeth stick out past your lower teeth. This is also called “overbite” or “buck teeth”.

Class III Malocclusion – a condition where lower teeth stick out past the upper teeth. Also called an “underbite”.