archwire
The wire placed into the brackets for guiding tooth movement
attachments
Small buttons of white filling material bonded to various teeth at the start of aligner treatment
band
A stainless steel ring cemented to a tooth, used as an alternative method of securing orthodontic brackets or appliances to a tooth
braces
Fixed orthodontic appliances
bracket
A metal or ceramic slot that is glued to a tooth for the purpose of attaching an archwire
ceramic brackets
Clear synthetic sapphire brackets that are less obvious than conventional metal brackets
coil spring
A spring that fits over the archwire between 2 brackets to push teeth apart
crossbite
The upper teeth should bite outside the lower teeth; if this relationship is reversed, this is a crossbite
crowding
Crowding means not enough space; crowding can be corrected by expansion, or by removing teeth.
debanding
The removal of orthodontic appliances.
elastics
Elastics are latex rubber bands used to apply force to teeth, sometimes worn from the upper arch to the lower arch, sometimes in the upper or lower arch only.
The elastics we use have names (eg Chuck, Fred, Dave, Gloria). If you need more elastics, please let us know which ‘name’ you need so that we can send you the correct ones.
gingiva
Gums
hooks
Elastics are placed between hooks on the brackets.
imaging
Taking 2d or 3d photographs or x-rays (radiographs)
lingual/palatal
Surfaces of the teeth facing the tongue/palate
lingual appliances
Orthodontic appliances fixed to the lingual surface of the teeth
mandible (mandibular)
lower jaw
maxilla (maxillary)
upper jaw
midline
The upper front teeth should be in the middle of the smile
openbite
Openbite is when the teeth do not meet together, and can be related to tongue function and increased face height.
orthodontist
A dentist who has completed a three year specialist postgraduate course in orthodontics accredited by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
orthognathic surgery
Surgery to alter the relationship between the jaws in conjunction with orthodontic treatment
overbite
The vertical overlap of the teeth
overjet
The horizontal overlap of the teeth
retainer
Fixed or removable retainers hold the teeth in position after orthodontic treatment
retention
The period of passive treatment using retainers
spacing
Spacing may be caused by missing teeth or small teeth
straight wire appliance
A system of orthodontic brackets with built in offsets and angulations
TADs
Temporary Anchorage Devices; these are ‘pins’ which are placed in the palate or in the lower jaw to assist with anchorage during tooth movement
underbite
If the lower jaw is in front of the upper jaw causing a crossbite of the front teeth, some people call this an underbite
protrusion
If the upper front teeth stick out too far, they are at risk of damage