Acid etch: A procedure where a weak acid smeared on your teeth to ready your teeth for brackets. The acid etch helps your brackets stay on better.
Banding: the process of cementing orthodontic bands to your teeth
Bonding: the process of attaching brackets to your teeth using a special safe glue
Cephalometric X-Rays: An x-ray of the head that shows whether your teeth are aligned properly, and whether they are growing properly.
The Consultation: A meeting with your orthodontist where he discusses your treatment plan
Debanding: the removal of cemented orthodontic bands.
Debonding: The removal of the brackets from your teeth
Extraoral photograph: facial photos.
Impressions: The first step in making a model of your teeth. You bite into a container filled with algenate, and the algenate hardens to produce a mold of your teeth.
Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment: Orthodontic treatment usually done when you are 6-8. The objective of interceptive orthodontic treatment is to expand your palate and make other corrections, so that your later orthodontic treatment goes quicker and is less painful.
Ligation: A process where an archwire is attached to the brackets on your teeth.
Ligating: An adjective used to describe components used to attach archwires to brackets. For example a ligating module is a small plastic piece that goes over the brackets to hold in your archwires.
Panoramic x-ray: An x-ray taken by a machine that rotates around your head to give the orthodontist a picture of your teeth, jaws and other important information.
The records appointment: One of the initial appointments with your orthodontist. The orthodontist or his/her assistant takes pictures of you, x-rays, and impressions so that they can figure out what treatment needs to be done. Click here for more information about the records appointment
Tightening your braces: A process which occurs every 3-6 weeks when you have braces. You go into the orthodontist's office and the orthodontist's assistant either makes adjustments to the wires in your braces, or changes the wires.
