Braces in Austin, Texas

How do braces straighten crooked teeth?

Braces use constant but gentle pressure, which over time, moves teeth. Your braces are at work every moment of your orthodontic treatment.  The two main components of your braces are the individual brackets that are placed on your teeth and the archwire(s) that connects them. The bracket is a piece of shaped metal or ceramic that we affix to each tooth. The archwire is bent to reflect your "ideal" bite. In other words, it reflects the way we want you to look after treatment. 

The wire threads through the brackets and, as the wire tries to return to its original shape, it applies pressure to move your teeth. Picture your tooth resting in your jaw bone. With pressure on one side from the archwire, the bone on the other side gives way. The tooth moves. New bone grows in behind.

In truth the mechanics, physiology, and physics of tooth movement is very complex and it takes years of training to correctly place the ideal forces necessary for movement without damage to the bone, gums, and/or the roots of the teeth.  For every force applied there is an equal and opposite force which must either be harnessed or dissipated.   Additionally, the lip support and soft tissue profile can be affected possitively or negatively depending on the placement of teeth.  Finally, natural bone development must be taken into account to enhance or inhibit certain growth processes in the younger growing patients. 

In addition to the main archwires, Dr. Waters may add titanium springs, elastic “chains”, rubber bands, or even additional and more complex segmented wires. The type of bracket used may reflect different precriptions based on bone morphology and/or the health of the periodontium (bone and tissues supporting the teeth).

Different Types of Braces

Metal braces are the most popular with kids and teenagers. They love using different colors of ligature ties (you can navigate to the “braces color picker” on our website through the kids button next to the frog logo).  These braces are much smaller than ever before.

The newest and most aesthetic option are Synthetic Sapphire crystal brackets.  These have replaced the ceramic and porcelain equivelants due to previous discolorations.  Sapphire brackets are essentially see-through. By picking up the color of the natural teeth, they blend much better than white or so-called “tooth-colored” brackets.  These brackets are best used on the upper teeth.  You have to be very close to someone to be able to see them.  Expect a bit more cost for these brackets.