Tried & True Treatment
The most common type of braces at Bowen Family Orthodontics are metal braces. These orthodontic workhorses have a long history of successfully straightening smiles at every age for patients throughout Mullica Hill and the surrounding areas.
What Are Braces Made of?
Brackets
The brackets Dr. Bowen uses are durable and made from a mix of stainless steel, nickel, and other metals.
Brackets have little hooks or doors where a wire is threaded. Dr. Bowen can secure brackets by closing the door or placing an elastic over the top of the wire.
Glue
Glue is what Dr. Bowen uses to attach the brackets to your teeth. It’s common to attach the bracket directly to the tooth with glue.
Wire
This thin piece of metal runs from one bracket to another. Dr. Bowen will change the wire's shape and curvature to move your teeth in the right direction.
The wire will attach all of your bottom or upper teeth in many cases. We might occasionally cut the wire if connecting just a few teeth is better for your treatment plan.
Orthodontic Bands
Using dental bonding agents, Dr. Bowen will cement these stainless steel rings to your teeth. These bands anchor your braces and orthodontic appliances, but we don’t always use them for everyone.
Elastic Ties/O-Rings/Ligatures/Colors
Dr. Bowen uses these tiny rubber rings or bands to attach the archwire to the brackets. Elastics are less rigid than spacers, and you can get them in dozens of colors.
Elastics
If you need bite correction, elastics are essential. Dr. Bowen generally strings elastics between an upper bracket hook and a lower bracket hook.
This method pulls your upper jaw backward to correct an overbite or the lower jaw back to correct an underbite. We use rubber bands when putting extra pressure on the teeth or jaws.
Spacers
If we need to create space between your teeth, we put spacers on the job. Dr. Bowen uses these small elastic“donuts” or spacers typically before placing your bands.