Brackets (English : braces) Is a term from orthodontics. They are fasteners for fixed braces, which have the shape of small plates / buttons and are used for tooth adjustment.
What are brackets?
Brackets may look unsightly at first glance. In the long term, straight teeth pay off visually, as well as dental health. More and more people are having their teeth “straightened” today. While in the past it was almost only teenagers, today there are also many adults around the age of 40 who are looking for a corrective solution that is as visually elegant as possible. Today, orthodontists have a wide range of different systems at their disposal that ensure a more beautiful smile that is as invisible as possible. After all, it was stars such as Tom Cruise or Faye Dunaway who demonstrated a few years ago that brackets have also become socially acceptable for adults. Such “dental appliances” were first mentioned in France in 1728. In 1916, three-dimensional regulation of teeth became possible for the first time. This technique served as the basis for modern brackets. Today, brackets are available in many different designs: The visually striking metal braces of the past have long since been “rivaled” by transparent materials.
Shapes, types and styles
Standard brackets are usually made of stainless steel. Brackets made of metal have the advantage of being extremely robust. They come in very different in size – full size brackets or speed brackets – and quality. But because of their nickel content, brackets are now increasingly made of other materials. Example: ceramic brackets – they are very inconspicuous due to their transparency and are often used for adults. When it comes to inconspicuousness, brackets can also be bonded to the inside of the teeth, in which case they are called lingual brackets, as opposed to brackets on the outside, which are called buccal brackets. Ceramic and metal brackets can also be excellently combined – for cost reasons, for example. Other materials include gold, titanium or composite.
Structure, function and mode of action
Brackets are bonded directly to the teeth using a special bonding technique and connected with continuous wires (arches). These bows, made of elastic metal, run through a horizontal slot (lock / slot) on the back of the brackets. Due to the fixed attachment of the braces, permanent pressure is exerted on the teeth, through which the position of the teeth can be corrected. Strictly speaking, the brackets are small “technical wonders”: the thickness and shape of the elastic metal arch determines the position in which the teeth will later be placed. A standard bracket has two wings that serve to fix the archwire and is called a twin bracket. Sometimes brackets with only one wing are used, these are called single brackets. Self-ligating brackets are used when there is no need for additional rubber or metal ligatures to attach the metal archwire. Self-ligating brackets have the advantage that they considerably reduce friction when the teeth are moved. To make the treatment as painless as possible, thermoelastic brackets are also used today. They have a precisely defined force specification and are particularly flexible.
Medical and health benefits
When the dentist determines that the bite of the upper and lower jaws do not match, the time of braces usually begins for young people. And later, when, for example, individual teeth are crooked or there is an unsightly gap between two teeth, adults also like to use orthodontic measures – in this case for cosmetic correction. The choice in each case is between fixed and removable braces. The advantage of fixed braces – called brackets – is that the correction of tooth position is much faster than with a removable option. Treatment with fixed braces can also be optimized in terms of time if individualized, rather than prefabricated, archwires are used. Self-ligating brackets, for example, can significantly reduce the sometimes annoying pulling process. Great progress has also been made with brackets in terms of aesthetics. Both brackets and archwires are now available in materials that are almost invisible. In addition, braces can also be attached to the inside of the teeth.In particular, the small brackets – called speed brackets – also help to make the correction as visually inconspicuous as possible.
