Types of Dental Appliances: Braces

Within the speciality of orthodontics, which is the one responsible for improving the bite of patients, we have many types of dental appliances. Today we’re going to talk about braces.

Braces are rectangular pieces that are stuck to the tooth and that can be made of different materials. The most common are the metal ones or the white ones, which are more aesthetic and can be made of resin, ceramic or sapphire.

How do I know if I need braces?

The best way to know if I need braces is to go to the dental clinic so that our dentist can assess whether it’s necessary to put braces on or not. In most cases it’s necessary to wait until we’ve replaced all the milk teeth and we already have all the permanent teeth.

• “But can you put braces on me if I’m missing teeth?”

Of course, braces are put on all the teeth except the ones we’re missing.

• “And if my wisdom teeth haven’t come through yet, is it necessary to extract the wisdom tooth to use braces?”

In most cases it isn’t necessary, only if they don’t have enough space to come out will it be necessary to remove them.

What are braces and what are they for?

As we said, braces are rectangular pieces that are stuck to the tooth and that, together with an archwire that joins all of them, gradually move them, aligning the teeth as time passes.

• “Are there different stages of braces?

The orthodontic treatment with braces has an initial stage with thin wires where the teeth gradually align and then we’ll go through more advanced stages with thicker wires.

Types of Braces

The most common types of braces are:

–Metal braces: they’re the most common and tend to be the most used as they’re quick, affordable and hygienic.  So, can you choose the colours of the braces? Metal braces are grey in colour but if we choose coloured bands we can have black braces, for example.

–Aesthetic braces or clear braces or braces for adults: they’re the most common alternative to metal braces, they’re usually used more in adult patients who are after aesthetics and want the braces to be less visible. The most used are ceramic braces, porcelain braces or sapphire braces, which, being of a colour similar to the tooth enamel, manage to disguise the fact that we have braces in the mouth.

–Self-ligating braces: they’re the braces that don’t need a band to hook the archwire to them, the archwire or wire is usually hooked with a clip or a cover. They’re quicker than the conventional ones in some cases because they have less friction.

–Buccal or lingual braces: we can stick the braces on the outer part of the tooth (buccal) or the braces that go on the inside (lingual). The buccal ones tend to be the most used since the lingual ones cause more discomfort because of the difficulty of pronouncing properly.

How are braces fitted?

Braces are cemented to the teeth in a way similar to how they do a filling for us. First, an acid is put on the surface of the tooth, then adhesive and finally the bracket is put on with the cement that will harden, in most cases, with an ultraviolet light. In the case of having to stick braces on small teeth, it’s sometimes necessary to first make the tooth bigger with a filling so that the bracket stuck to the tooth fits.

To cement the braces there’s no need to apply anaesthetic since it’s a quick, easy and painless procedure.

“Why do they put the upper braces on first?” In most patients the upper teeth cover the lower ones and it’s necessary to level the upper ones first to be able to stick the lower braces on. Both above and below we’ll put braces on all the permanent teeth.

“But why don’t they put braces on the last molars?” Sometimes the second molars tend to erupt properly and braces aren’t put on them.         

Brace Bands: What are they?

The bands that go around the braces or brace bands are used to hook the wire to the braces that are stuck to the teeth. Generally we associate those bands with coloured bands; patients like to choose the colours of the brace bands they’re going to have at each monthly check-up using the colour wheel for braces. That’s why the younger patients say they have “coloured braces”, “blue braces”, “black braces” or “green braces” or even “fluorescent pink braces” or “fluorescent orange braces” but in reality we can’t choose the colours of the braces but rather the coloured brace bands.

We can also put grey bands with the metal braces or clear ones with the aesthetic braces so that it isn’t noticeable that we have bands on the braces. We’ll change the bands every time we go for a check-up at the clinic, which will be once a month in most cases.

There’s also another type of band: the intermaxillary bands, which are the ones patients have to put on at home and go from the upper teeth to the lower teeth. The dentist will show us how to put the bands on and how many hours we should wear them, changing them at home every day for new ones.

What are the brace bands for?

The bands that the patient puts on from the upper teeth to the lower teeth are used to improve the bite so that the upper teeth fit with the lower teeth.

“But how long do you wear the bands on the braces?” Well, there are patients who’ll have to wear them for longer than others, that will depend on the patient’s initial bite and their cooperation. It’s essential to wear them as the dentist tells us in order to be able to finish our orthodontics perfectly.

Children with Braces

It’s often common to see children with braces. There aren’t braces for children, they’re the same ones that are put on adults. In most cases braces are put on when we already have all the permanent teeth but on some occasions we can see children with braces. In this case they’re usually put on the 4 upper and/or lower incisors to finish aligning them as part of a first stage of treatment, since on the rest of the teeth, which are usually temporary teeth, it isn’t usual to put braces.

Tips for the first few days:

What worries patients the most in the first few days is knowing whether braces hurt and knowing the side effects of braces.

During the first few days with braces it’s common to have mild brace pain, which is why our dentist will advise us to take a painkiller if they bother us, but with the passing of time we won’t notice any discomfort and we can even kiss with braces!

It’s also advisable to know that you can’t eat with braces: hard and sticky foods, as they can unstick the braces or take the wire out of the bracket, having to go to the clinic so that they can resolve the emergency for us.

What do braces do in the first month?

During the first month the braces align the teeth, as we’ll put on an elastic nitinol archwire that will align the teeth daily, so that we’ll notice changes in our mouth immediately. The activation of the wire and the bands is lost over time, which is why it’s advisable to check the braces every month.

What to eat with Braces?

While we wear braces they’ll give us some instructions at the clinic that we should follow throughout the treatment. It’s very important to follow the dietary instructions and know what to eat with braces. It will be advisable not to eat hard or sticky things as they can delay the treatment by unsticking the braces. It won’t be advisable to eat sugary foods either, as we have more difficulty cleaning our teeth and therefore we can have cavities during the treatment.

How to clean your teeth with Braces step by step?

As we’ve explained, it’s essential to maintain proper hygiene so as not to have cavities during the treatment with braces. For this we should buy a specific toothbrush for braces, whether manual or electric, and then help ourselves with the interproximal brushes to clean all the corners where the brush doesn’t reach. It’s also advisable to use a fluoride paste and rinse to reinforce the enamel of our teeth.

From the Clínica Dental Doctores Tarazona we want to inform you of all your doubts and put within your reach the necessary information about your orthodontic treatment with braces, but if you have more doubts or want an appointment with our specialist don’t hesitate to contact us.