What Happens at the Orthodontist's Office

Getting Braces at the Orthodontist's Office

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Now that you have decided to start to go to the orthodontist, you might wonder HOW DO BRACES WORK? Here is a short explanation from Dr. Echols:

Braces use steady, gentle pressure over time to move teeth into their proper positions. They don't look like they're doing much just sitting there. But, in fact, every moment of your orthodontic treatment, there is something happening in your mouth. Something good for you. The brackets we place on your teeth and the main archwire that connects them, are the two main components. The bracket is a piece of specially shaped metal or ceramic that we affix to each tooth. Then we bend the archwire to reflect your "ideal" bite - what we want you to look like after treatment.

The wire threads through the brackets and, as the wire tries to return to its original shape, it applies pressure to actually move your teeth. Picture your tooth resting in your jaw bone. With pressure on one side from the archwire, the bone on the other side gives way. The tooth moves. New bone grows in behind.

It may look like nothing is happening - but we're making a new smile here. Thanks to new materials and procedures, all this happens quicker than ever before. It's kind of an engineering feat.

Dr. Mizrahi gave us a tour of his office. To see our pictures click here.

Would you like to find out what it's like to have braces put on? Dr. Echols will show you how he puts braces on a girl. Click Here

Dr. Laughlin will show you how lingual braces are put on. Click Here

Do you ever wonder about how the orthodontist takes the braces off? If so, click here.

We wrote a story about a girl who gets braces put on. To read Sandy's Story click here.

You'll need to decide which type of braces you would like. The braces come in different materials like stainless steel, titanium, gold, and ceramic. Most braces are put on the front of your teeth. There is also lingual braces that are put on the back of teeth. If you want to see a picture of different types of braces and read about them Click Here

Most people you see with braces have different color ties around the brackets and colorful rubber bands. You might see a colorful retainer or mouthguard around. Do you want see more? Well, then Click Here

Some people have elastics on their braces to help move the teeth. To find out more about elastics or rubber bands click here.

Some kids who start at the orthodontist have special appliances that slowly change the way the inside of their mouth and teeth grow. These appliances fit in the mouth and they need to be worn as much as possible to make a difference.

If you would like to see a list of pictures and information about different appliances click here

To see the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research's poster on appliances click here

     For more information about headgear click here .
     For information about expanders click here .
     For information on Herbst appliances click here.
     For information on bionator appliances click here .
     For information on retainers click here .
     For information on the tongue thrust appliance click here

Orthodontists go to four years of college in the sciences, four years of dental school and two years at a university studying orthodontics. To read their answers to our survey about their life, school experiences and their work go to our About the Doctors Page.

Orthodontists work with other dental specialists to make your mouth and face healthy and beautiful. If you would like to know what the other specialists work on click here .

Dr. Sachs, an oral surgeon, gave us an interview to explain how he works with orthodontists. To see his interview click here.

If you would like to see some pictures of what braces used to look like and how orthodontics are changing, go to the Braces Past and Present Page

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