From Adjustment to Underbite: The concise glossary of orthodontic terms

There are a lot of complex words that get used when it comes to orthodontics. But whether you’ve just started your orthodontic treatment or you’re simply curious about what frenum is, then read on to discover the A to Z of orthodontic terms.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Adjustment appointment

An appointment where your treatment progress is evaluated and your orthodontist might change wires, modifying wires or adding elastics.

Appliance

Any orthodontic device that is used to straighten your teeth or change the position of your jaw. These can be removable (“removable appliance”) or glued in (“fixed appliance”).

Archwire

A metal wire attached to braces on your teeth to help move them into a new position.

Band

A circular band of metal that surrounds the tooth to support it. It is usually attached to the back teeth (molars) and becomes an anchor point for the orthodontic archwires or appliances during treatment.

Bonding

The process of attaching braces (or other appliances) to your teeth using a safe adhesive.

Braces

Fixed orthodontic devices used to move teeth into their new position, usually consisting of brackets, bands and wires. Often, ‘braces’ is used by the public as the generic term for orthodontic appliances

Bite

How the top and bottom teeth meet when they come into contact.

Bite registration

The process of making an imprint of the way your teeth come together. This imprint is made with either wax/putty or can be done digitally with a scanner.

Bruxism

Grinding of the teeth, usually while sleeping. This can cause abnormal tooth wear or pain in the jaw joints (or both).

Cephalometric Radiographs

An x-ray of the head that shows the positioning of the teeth, jaws and facial skeleton.

Ceramic braces

A form of orthodontic appliances like traditional metal braces, but the brackets are made from tooth coloured or clear ceramic materials instead of metal. They are designed as a more cosmetic alternative to metal braces.

Clear aligner treatment

Orthodontic appliances that use a series of removable clear plastic trays (the aligners) to progressively guide teeth into their new position.

See also: ClearCorrect, Invisalign®, OrthoCaps, Spark® and 3M Clarity®

 

ClearCorrect

A branded name for clear aligner treatment in Australia.

See also: Clear aligners, Invisalign®, OrthoCaps, Spark® and 3M Clarity®

 

Congenitally missing teeth

An inherited or genetic condition where one or more permanent teeth do not develop.

Crossbite

A dental misalignment (malocclusion) where the upper and lower teeth do not meet properly.

Crowding

When there is insufficient space for teeth within the mouth to fit, often leading to crooked teeth.

Diastema

A gap between two adjacent teeth, usually at the front of the mouth.

Deband / Debond

The removal of cemented or bonded brackets and bands

Deep bite

An excessive overbite or vertical overlap where the upper front teeth completely or mostly cover the lower front teeth. This bite problem can lead to increased wear of the front teeth.

Early orthodontic treatment

This type of treatment takes place while the patient (usually a child) has some baby teeth remaining and/or before all their permanent teeth have come through. It is usually followed by braces or other orthodontic treatment several years later to achieve the perfect smile.

Ectopic Tooth

When your tooth develops in the wrong position. This can usually be moved into the correct position with orthodontic treatment.

Elastics

Small rubber bands that use gentle – but continuous – force to allow an individual tooth to be moved or for the jaw/bite to be realigned. They must be worn and changed regularly by the wearer.

Extraction

The removal of a tooth.

Fixed appliances

Any orthodontic device (usually referring to braces) that is attached or cemented to the teeth and cannot be removed by the patient.

Fluoride

A mineral which reduces the risk of tooth decay and is often found in toothpaste and some mouthrinses. It is also found in the drinking water in many areas.

Frenum

The fleshy tissue that runs between the muscles and gums, such as under the tongue, and between the front teeth and upper lip.

Frenectomy

The surgical removal of the frenum. This can include cutting or repositioning the frenum.

Functional appliance

A device that helps to correct the bite by repositioning the jaws. It must be cared for and worn consistently to provide a successful treatment outcome.

Gingivitis

Gingivitis, or periodontal disease, is a mild form of gum disease.

Impacted tooth

A tooth that doesn’t grow or only partially grows into the mouth.

Impression

A mould of the teeth. It is made by placing an impression tray filled with the moulding material until it sets in the mouth. Impressions may be used to make study models or customised orthodontic appliances.

Invisalign^®

A branded name for a clear aligner product in Australia.

See also: Clear aligners, ClearCorrect, OrthoCaps, Spark® and 3M Clarity®

 

Ligating module

A small o-shaped plastic ring which is used to secure the orthodontic archwire into the orthodontic brackets on the teeth.

Lingual braces

A form of orthodontic treatment where the archwires and brackets are placed along the inside of your teeth, making them virtually invisible. Lingual braces are usually custom-made for each patient and may affect speech because they are on the tongue side of the teeth.

Malocclusion

The orthodontic term for teeth that don’t fit together when biting. There are three different types of malocclusions:

• Class I: Where the molar relationship is typical but subsequent teeth have problems such as crowding and over or under eruption, which might result in a crossbite.
• Class II: A malocclusion where upper teeth are positioned more forward than the lower teeth or the lower jaw is too far behind the upper jaw, which might result in an overbite or overjet.
• Class III: A malocclusion where the lower teeth are positioned further forward than the upper teeth, usually due to a small upper jaw or excessively large lower jaw, which might result in an underbite.

Mandible

The lower jaw.

Maxilla

The upper jaw.

Mixed dentition

When there is a mixture of baby and permanent teeth in the mouth. This stage usually ranges from ages 6 to 12 years.

Mouthguard

A removable plastic device that covers the teeth and is worn during sports to protect the teeth and jaws.

Nightguard (Splint)

A removable plastic device worn at night to reduce the damage to teeth from clenching or grinding the teeth while asleep.

Open bite

A malocclusion where the teeth don’t make contact with each other. An anterior open bite is where the front teeth don’t make contact while the back teeth are touching. A posterior open bite is where the back teeth don’t touch while the front teeth are touching.

OrthoCaps

A branded name for clear aligner treatment in Australia.

See also: Clear aligners, ClearCorrect, Spark® and 3M Clarity®

Orthodontist

Orthodontists are dental specialists who specialise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dental and facial irregularities to correctly align teeth, bites and jaws, including straightening teeth. Orthodontists undergo an additional three years of specialist training on top of their general dental degree and focus only on orthodontics.

Find a registered specialist orthodontist near you.

Overbite

Where the upper front teeth overlap the lower front teeth in the vertical dimension.

Overjet

Where the upper front teeth are located too far in front of the lower front teeth in the horizontal dimension.

Palatal expander (RME / RPE)

An appliance used to widen the upper jaw or palate.

Panoramic X-ray

Also known as an orthopantomogram (OPG), this is an x-ray of the jaws that shows all the teeth and jaws in a single image to help detect congenitally missing teeth and/or impacted teeth. It can also be used to assess the wisdom teeth.

Plaque

A film that contains bacteria and can lead to tooth decay when it is not removed every day.

Quadhelix

An appliance that is used to fix a narrow upper arch. It is fixed to bands on the molars and typically has four coiled (helical) wire springs.

Removable appliance

Any orthodontic device that can be removed by the patient, including plates, retainers and mouthguards.

Retainer (Fixed)

A fixed retainer is an appliance that is permanently attached to the back of your teeth after braces to ensure your teeth stay in the correct position.

Retainer (Removeable)

A removable retainer is an appliance that you insert and remove to ensure you are preventing your teeth from unwanted movement. There are two types of removable retainers: a plastic, clear mouthguard or a plate retainer.

Self-ligating braces / Self-ligating brackets

Self-ligating braces use a built-in system (the self-ligating brackets) to secure the archwire to the brackets.

There two types of self-ligating brackets:

• Active brackets use a sliding spring clip mechanism to ‘actively’ press against the archwire, applying an active force.
• Passive brackets use a simple sliding mechanism which does not press on the archwire.

Separator

A plastic ring that is used to create space between teeth. It can be used to allow metal bands to be attached to the teeth or to correct impacted teeth. They are usually worn up to seven days prior to the bands being cemented.

Space maintainers

An appliance that can be used when a baby tooth is lost prematurely to maintain the required space for the underlying adult tooth.

Spark®

A branded name for clear aligner treatment in Australia.

See also: Clear aligners, ClearCorrect, Invisalign®, OrthoCaps, and 3M Clarity®

Supernumerary teeth

When you develop more teeth than the usual number. This may also be an inherited condition.

Tongue thrust

Abnormal function of the tongue, which can sometimes lead to bite problems.

Twin block 

A commonly used removable functional device that repositions the lower jaw to help correct significant bite problems.

Underbite

A malocclusion where the lower front teeth rest in front of the upper front teeth.

Wax

A soft material that can be used to prevent rubbing of the brackets and archwires, particularly in the early days of orthodontic treatment.

3M Clarity®

A branded name for clear aligner treatment in Australia.

See also: Clear aligners, ClearCorrect, Invisalign®, OrthoCaps and Spark®