Fixed braces how do they work

There are quite a few different parts that an orthodontist may use to straighten teeth, but for this article we will describe the three most important components of braces.

Three key parts aree:. A bracket is the small metal part of the braces that is bonded to your teeth. Brackets can come in several different designs and styles.

Once the proper bracket is chosen, it is bonded to the teeth using dental adhesive a material similar to what is used for white fillings. Once the bracket is bonded to your tooth, the tooth can then be engaged with the next part of braces — the archwire. An orthodontic archwire is what actually moves your teeth into place. First though, an archwire must be turned into the ideal shape for your teeth. The archwires are springy, so even after they are placed in your mouth and set into place by the brackets, the archwires will still want to spring back into their original position.

As the archwires slowly return to their original shape, they pull your teeth along with them. This is the technical process behind moving your teeth into their ideal position. In nearly every case, the orthodontist will begin your braces with a very thin and flexible wire. That way the wire is exerting very little force, and therefore very light amounts of pressure, on your teeth. As your teeth gradually straighten, the orthodontist will use thicker and stiffer wires to gradually move your teeth into the ideal position.

In order to move teeth with an archwire, an orthodontist needs to attach the wire to the bracket. This is where the final key part of braces, o-ties or bracket clips, come in. However, not all bracket types use o-ties. Some bracket types use a clip rather than an o-tie to engage the archwire into the bracket. The roots of your teeth are surrounded by bone. When a steady and consistent outside force is applied to a tooth over a long period of time, the bone on one side of the tooth is removed by cells in your blood and new bone is laid down on the other side of the tooth.

Your tooth essentially forges a new path provided by bone. When a tooth moves, the bone, gums, blood vessels, and everything else travel along with the tooth to help it travel safely and securely into a new position. They can also sometimes be used to discourage children from sucking their thumb, but this is not available on the NHS. These braces should only be taken out of your mouth for cleaning or as a precaution during certain activities.

Your orthodontist can advise you about this. Functional appliances can be used to treat problems with the position of the upper and lower jaw and teeth. Most people need to wear them all the time. It's very important to follow your orthodontist's instructions about how and when to wear the appliance.

If it's not worn correctly, the treatment will not work. It may be necessary to remove your functional appliance for cleaning and while you're eating.

Headgear is used to correct the position of the back teeth or to keep them in position while the front teeth are being treated. Most people only need to wear headgear in the evening and during the night. You will not be able to eat or drink while wearing headgear. There are other types of braces available privately, such as aligners, or invisible or lingual braces that fit onto the back of the teeth.

You'll need to talk to your orthodontist to see whether they can be used for your problem. The cost of these braces is usually higher. Retainers are used at the end of a course of orthodontic treatment. They hold straightened teeth in place while the surrounding gum and bone adjusts to their new position. Retainers can either be removable or fixed.

Please contact our reception team on to reschedule your appointments. Braces can achieve incredible results for patients who would otherwise ensure a lifetime of cosmetic and medical problems. So here's a broken-down version to help you understand the process.

Braces work by exerting constant pressure on teeth and jaws to change their position and alter the smile. The brackets glued to teeth hold the archwire in place which places pressure on teeth. Over time teeth move into the desired position.

The soft tissue that surrounds the teeth and bone are periodontal ligaments. These ligaments hold teeth in place and can stretch or compress as teeth move. When braces move a tooth to the right, the ligament on the right compresses and new bone forms on the left to fill the gap.

Braces move individual teeth back, forward and across to make enough room for teeth to sit side by side. Some younger patients with overcrowding benefit from an expander to increase the size of their jaw. If the palate has already fused, the expander alone is no longer an option, and a patient might have to have some small pins placed from the expander into the roof of the mouth to assist with expansion, or the assitsance of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon will be requested to make some incisions on either side of the upper jaw to enable the expander to expand the jaw structure.

Tooth extraction may also be frequently considered as an alternative cto make more room. Of course your orthodontists will work through all the options with carefully considered issues. An overbite is the vertical overlap of the top and lower teeth, and overjet is the protrusion of the top teeth relative to the lower teeth.

To treat the overbite, upper front teeth may be moved up, lower front teeth moved down or a combination of both or the lower back teeth may be brought up to make the lower jaw swing open slightly. Braces do this by applying constant pressure to slowly move the teeth into the desired position. As the teeth move, the bone around them changes shape to accommodate their new position. You can learn more about how braces can correct an overbite here.

People think of braces being able to push teeth towards the palate, but braces can also pull teeth out towards the lips. An archwire with a shape memory is made of nickel-titanium and can pull teeth forward. The wire is bent to meet the bracket on the tooth, but with time the wire returns to its original U shape carrying the tooth forward.

The first stage is to move your teeth so they sit side by side. Teeth may move up or down and across, so the edge of teeth are in a straight line. The second step is adjusting the braces to correct any bite problems - an overbite, underbite or crossbite.