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Every profession has its own jargon! Here is a quick list of terms you may hear used at your orthodontist’s office. Hopefully this helps you better understand what is going on during your treatment.
Adjustment – a quick visit to check on your progress and “tighten” the braces
Archwire – the thin metal wire attached to all of the brackets
Appliance – any device that the orthodontist cements in your mouth to change your teeth
Bonding – the process of gluing on brackets
Bracket – the small metal items bonded to each individual tooth
Crossbite – when the upper teeth fit inside or behind the lower teeth
Crowding – when the teeth are crooked due to lack of space
Deep bite – when the front top teeth cover a significant portion of the front bottom teeth
Diastema – a gap between the two front top teeth
Elastics – small rubber bands worn to correct the bite
Essix – material used to make a clear retainer
Gingiva – gums
Hawley – retainer that has hard acrylic on the palate and a metal bar across the front teeth
Mandible – lower jaw
Maxilla – upper jaw
Open bite – when biting down, the back teeth touch, but the front teeth do not
Overbite – overlap of the upper front teeth over the lower front teeth
Overjet – horizontal protrusion of upper front teeth in front of lower front teeth
Power chain – powerful and stretchy connected links that wrap around brackets to close spaces, comes in lots of colors
Retainer – appliance that preserves your straight teeth after you are done with braces
Separator – small rubber band placed in between teeth in preparation for cementing an appliance such as an expander
Supernumerary tooth – an extra tooth
TMJ – temporomandibular joint – one of two joints between mandible and skull, located in front of ears
Tongue thrust – a habit of abnormally positioning the tongue during swallowing that can cause an open bite
Underbite – when the lower front teeth are positioned in front of the upper front teeth
If you don’t understand a term that your orthodontist uses, just ask! Dr. Peterson is always happy to educate patients. See you at your next adjustment!