Hey there, this could be a VERY stupid question. I watched a lot videos on YouTube which shows how braces work. But I never understood how the braces pull and move the teeth instead of just staying there in the same shape it is put on. I can understand how it works when the brackets of an upper tooth and a lower tooth are connected using a rubber band. But how can the braces exert force on its on when put only on the upper or lower set of teeth? I mean, it’s metal which bends, and it is put on teeth which are bigger and probably stronger. Or is this any different type of metal which tend to come to it’s original state even if it gets bend?
Sorry for the bad English. Thank you!
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The braces maintain the teeth in a fixed position; what the dentist does is exert a certain pressure through the arch that connects them. Periodically, they tighten them to ensure that the pressure is constant and gentle
You’re right! The metal they use in the wire betwene is a material that naturally tries to return to its original shape
Teeth are not fused to the bone. They sit in a socket and are held in place with a connective tissue.
Braces are not tightened, rather the arch wire is changed out. The arch wire is basically a spring steel that is shaped to a specific size and shape.
Early in treatment, the stiffness of the archive is weak. The wire is bent and twisted and nested into the brackets on each tooth. They are usually anchored through tubes on the molar brackets.
The wire is held to each bracket with small elastics or in the case of daemon brackets, a small sliding flap.
As the wire tries to return to its original shape, it puts pressure on the teeth, which causes the connective tissue and surrounding socket to slowly change to the new position.
As treatment progresses, the arch wire strength is usually increased as the teeth get closer to their final position.
I am not a dentist or orthodontist, so I may be wrong.
I don’t know the exact term but I think the brace metal is some sort of memory metal that return back to its shape after deformed. The original shape can be altered under some conditions which is the desired shape of tooth alignment. (I’m not a dentist or anything, but just something I remember from my brace experience( seems like it’s some nickel titanium alloy which is something out of my knowledge
Braces need adjustment every month or so. What happens at each adjustment is that the dentist will tighten/reshape the wire connecting the brackets on the teeth, so that it pulls closer and closer to the ideal shape.
The metal bracket itself doesn’t apply any force on the tooth. It’s just stuck to the tooth and doesn’t move. The wire and rubber bands that go between the teeth are set up carefully in a manner that will push or pull the teeth to a desired position in the jaw. Again, they need adjustment frequently, so that they continue to move the teeth in the right direction.
The wires in braces are usually anchored to the rear molar which have a loop of metal around them with an anchoring point attached to them. It looks like [this] (https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1200/1*Vh2-tyrplUUi_pxli57pKw.jpeg). The Orthodontist then can then tighten the wires to exert pressure on the teeth to move them in the intended direction based on the placement of the braces on the teeth. Sometimes the teeth need to be moved in a way that isn’t possible for just the wire, so springs or elastics are used. Sometimes the rear molar needs to be moved as well so a head strap, known as head gear, is used that gets attached to the rear molars and pushes them towards the back of the head.
Basically teeth aren’t that strong.
Like if you pressed your finger for 24 hours a day for 2 years on a single tooth, it would move wherever you pressed it.
Braces move many teeth at the same time, but in a way that is much more controlled. That’s why each tooth has its own little metal thing glued on to it and wires connecting them, so they all move at once.
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