Metal Braces
Clear Orthodontic Braces
How Orthodontic Braces Work
Orthodontic braces work by using brackets that are glued onto you teeth. These brackets have small slots in the front surfaces of them and it is into these slots that the orthodontic wires fit into place. These wires are held in place by small elastic ties that fit around the brackets. Over time, these wires put pressure on your teeth and this moves your teeth into their proper positions.
The brackets (braces) that most orthodontists use these days are not all the same. Each of your teeth has a different size and shape to them. The brackets do as well. So, for instance, a bracket that is made for an upper front tooth (incisor) would not fit correctly on a lower side tooth (bicuspid). Each of these brackets is custom made for the particular tooth it is supposed to fit on. They have different thicknesses, and the slots that the wire fits into are made at just the right angle for that particular tooth.
This system of making the braces to fit individual teeth and to have the slots made at just the right angle to move the teeth to their ideal final positions was developed by an orthodontist named Lawrence (Larry) Andrews in the 1970’s. He is a really smart guy, and very nice by the way. Anyway, this is the type of system that most orthodontists use these days. Before Dr. Andrews developed this system, all of the brackets had the same sized slot cut into them. That meant that the orthodontist had to put individual bends into the wires for every individual tooth in the mouth. That system worked, but it was a total pain for both the orthodontist and the patient. It takes a long time to put all those bends into the wires, and it hurts when one of these wires with all these bend on it is pushed into the brackets.
The other aspect to how braces move your teeth is the wires that are used. Back in the day, orthodontists had stainless steel wires and that was about it. These days, orthodontists have a number of different high-tech wires to use that move your teeth faster and more comfortably. The first wire or two that an orthodontist will use on your teeth are very flexible. They almost feel like rubber. This is beneficial in a number of ways. These flexible wires put a more regulated and constant force on your teeth. This means they are not only more comfortable, but they also move your teeth faster and you don’t need to get them adjusted as often. As the teeth straighten out, the orthodontist is able to put in progressively thicker and stiffer wires until you get to those stainless steel wires mentioned earlier.
Most people that have braces will need to wear elastics or rubber bands. These typically go from one or more of the upper braces to one or more of the lower braces. These elastics pull on your teeth and move them in the direction that the need to move.
I’ve mentioned several times in this post about how the braces/wires/elastic put pressure on your teeth. This pressure is transmitted from the teeth to the bone that surrounds them. The bone responds to this pressure and ‘remodels’ around the tooth. Some bone is taken away in some areas and added in other areas around the tooth, depending on the direction it is being pushed.
That is pretty much how braces move teeth. If you are interested, you can check out our website for more information.