Acrylic
A plastic used to make retainers, and other dental products. Dental acrylic has been tested and found safe.

Alginate
A goo-like compound used to take impressions. It comes flavored and is safe.

Appliance
Anything the orthodontist attaches to your teeth to move your teeth or to change the shape of your jaw.

Arch Wire
A metal or flexible wire which is attached to your brackets to move your teeth.

Band
A metal ring that is placed on your back teeth to hold on parts of your braces.

Bracket
A metal or ceramic part that is glued onto a tooth and serves to hold the arch wire.

Buccal tube
A small metal part that is welded on the ourside of a molar band. The buccal tube contains a slot to hold archwires, facebows and other things your orthodontist uses to move your teeth.

Chain, Orthodontic Chain
A stretchable plastic chain used to hold archwires into brackets and to move teeth.

Facebow/Headgear
Facebows are wire apparatus used to move your upper molars back in your mouth which creates room for crowded or protrusive anterior teeth. Made of two metal parts which have been attached together. The inner part is shaped like a horseshoe. This part goes in your mouth and is connected to your buccal tubes. The outer part has two curves. The curves go around your face, and connect to the breakaways. An elastic neck band is placed around the back of the neck to hold it in place.

Ligating module/O-ring
A small plastic piece, shaped like a donut, which is used to hold the arch wires in the brackets on your teeth.

Mouthguard
A device that is used to protect your mouth from injury when you are participating in sports. The use of a mouthguard is especially important for orthodontic patients, to prevent injuries.

Neck pad
A neckpad is a cloth covered cushion which you wear around your neck when you put on your facebow/headgear. Generally, the breakaways are attached to the neckpad to provide force for the facebow/headgear.

Palatal Expander
A device used to make your jaw wider

Retainer
A gadget that the orthodontist gives you to wear after the braces are removed. The retainer attaches to your upper teeth and holds them in the correct position. You wear the retainer at night to make sure that none of your teeth move while your jaw hardens and your teeth get strongly attached to your jaw.

Safety Strap
A plastic strap which prevents a facebow/headgear from coming loose and hurting you.

Separator
A plastic or metal part which the orthodontist uses to create space between your teeth for bands.

Wax
A csoft wax used to prevent your braces from irritating your lips when your braces are first put on, or at other times.

Band Remover
A special plier which the orthodontist uses to remove bands from your teeth.

Bite Stick
A device the orthodontist uses to help put on your bands. The orthodontist puts the band in place, then asks you to bite down on the bite stick to help push the band in place.

View-Box
An x-ray viewer

Cheek retractors
Small plastic pieces used to draw back your lips and cheeks so the orthodontist can more easily see you teeth and work in your mouth.

Curing Light
A special UV light used to help attach brackets to your teeth.

Distal End Cutter
A special plier used to cut off the ends of your arch wires.

Explorer
a hook-like fine pointed instrument used in examining your teeth.

Interproximal Stripper
A device used to remove small amounts of enamel from the spaces between your teeth. The stripper is used to create extra space for crowded teeth.

Hemostat Plier
A special plier which locks when it closes so it holds on to small parts.

Pin and Ligature Cutter
A special plier use to cur off arch wires, ligatures etc.

Scaler
A tool with a curved hook on one end. The orthodontist uses the scaler to remove excess cement, and check for gaps.

Acid etch
A procedure where a weak acid smeared on your teeth to ready your teeth for brackets. The acid etch helps your brackets stay on better.

Banding
the process of cementing orthodontic bands to your teeth.

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

Cephalometric X-Rays
An x-ray of the head that shows whether your teeth are aligned properly, and whether they are growing properly.

The Consultation
A meeting with your orthodontist where he discusses your treatment plan.

Debanding
the removal of cemented orthodontic bands.

Debonding
The removal of the brackets from your teeth.

Extraoral photograph
Photos of your face.

Impressions
The first step in making a model of your teeth. You bite into a container filled with alginate, and the alginate hardens to produce a mold of your teeth.

Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment
Orthodontic treatment usually done when you are 6-8. The objective of interceptive orthodontic treatment is to expand your palate and make other corrections, so that your later orthodontic treatment goes quicker and is less painful.

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

Panoramic x-ray
An x-ray taken by a machine that rotates around your head to give the orthodontist a picture of your teeth, jaws and other important information.

The records appointment
One of the initial appointments with your orthodontist. The orthodontist or his/her assistant takes pictures of you, x-rays, and impressions so that they can figure out what treatment needs to be done.

Tightening your braces
A process which occurs every 3-10 weeks when you have braces. You go into the orthodontist's office to adjust the wires in your braces, or change the wires.

Biomechanics
the relationship between the force you apply to living tissue such as teeth and gums and and how the tissue moves and changes

Biteplane
a removable appliance made of acrylic designed to open a deep bite.

Nickel Titanium or (NiTi)
An especially strong orthodontic wire which allows for rapid tooth movement.

Archform
the shape of the dental arch. For example the orthodontist could say that you have a horseshoe archform or a "v"-shaped archform.

Closed bite
A malocclusion where your upper teeth cover your lower teeth when you bite down. This is also called a "deep bite."

Crossbite
A malocclusion where some of your upper teeth are inside of your lower teeth when you bite down.

Crowding
An orthodontic problem caused by having too many teeth in two small of a space.

Deep bite
Excessive overbite; closed bite.

Dentition
The arrangement of the teeth.

Diastema
A space between two teeth.

Drift
Unwanted movement of teeth.

Extrusion
Tooth movement in the direction of eruption. Natural extrusion: teeth grow until there is contact with another tooth. Mechanical extrusion: to pull the teeth so that it extends farther out of your gums.

Fixed appliance
Any orthodontic component that is cemented or bonded to the teeth.

Flared teeth
A term used to indicate the position of the teeth. The upper teeth are flared lingually (toward the lip).

Full orthodontic treatment
Getting braces.

Open bite
A malocclusion in which the teeth do not close or come together in the front of your mouth.

Orthodontics
The treatment preformed to correct your bite and make your smile look wonderful.

Orthodontist
A dentist who has been specially trained to do orthodontics.

Orthodontia
Braces

Overbite
Vertical overlapping of the upper teeth over the lower.

Overjet
Horizontal projection of upper teeth beyond the lower.

Retruded
A term used when your front teeth are slated lingually (i.e. toward the back of your mouth).

Rotation
A movement in which the tooth turned along the long axis of the tooth.

Spee
The curve of spee is the curvature of the occlusal plane of the teeth.

Stop
A bend or auxiliary attachment placed on a wire to limit the archwire from sliding or moving in the bracket slot of the bracket.

Torque
The rotation of a tooth on the long axis moving the root of the tooth in a buccal or labial direction.

Tracing (cephalometric)
An overlay drawing traced over a cephalometric x-ray that shows specific structures and landmarks that provided a basis for orthodontic therapy.

Traction
The act of drawing or pulling the teeth.

Translation
A tooth movement in which the entire tooth moves forward or backward without tipping or rotating.

Typodont
A plastic model of a typical mouth, showing the alignment of teeth. A typodont is used to teaching orthodontic procedures.

Interproximal stripping
Reduction of the enamel of the teeth on both sides of the tooth. This procedure is preformed to create space for crowded teeth.

Intrusion
Movement of a tooth back into the bone.

Lingual arch
An orthodontic wire attached from molar to molar in the inside of your teeth.

Lingual retainers
A variation of the lingual arch going from cuspids to cuspid.

Malocclusion
Poor positioning of your teeth.

Class I Malocclusion
A Malocclusion where your bite is OK (your top teeth line up with your bottom teeth) but your teeth are crooked, crowded or turned.

Class II Malocclusion
A Malocclusion where your upper teeth stick out past your lower teeth. This is also called an "overbite" or "buck teeth".

Class III Malocclusion
A Malocclusion where your lower teeth stick out past your upper teeth. This is also called an "underbite".

Occlusion
The alignment and spacing of your upper and lower teeth when you bite down.

Proper Occlusion
A beautiful smile where all of your teeth are straight and your top teeth line up with your bottom teeth.