Braces, along with various other orthodontic treatments, are a common and highly-effective means to restoring order and balance to a misaligned smile. To help you better understand the need for and benefits of braces, your Century City orthodontist, Dr. David Alpan, offers a brief breakdown of why you would need braces in the first place, then explains the components of modern braces and how they straighten your teeth.

Why You Need Braces

To state the obvious, you need braces to straighten crooked, misaligned, and/or oddly-angled teeth. To explain the less-obvious, you need straight teeth for more than just a pretty smile. Your mouth, especially the jaw that moves it, can generate an incredible amount of force. Displacing the pressure evenly among your teeth helps protect them from the pressure, but when your teeth aren’t aligned correctly, then proper pressure displacement is difficult, often impossible. As a result, your teeth can become excessively worn or damaged. In addition, the odd angles and spaces created by crooked teeth offer harmful dental plaque extra places to hide, sometimes out of reach of your toothbrush and floss, increasing your chances of developing tooth decay and gum disease. In essence, your smile’s good health and proper function rely as much on straight teeth as your smile’s pride and confidence.

Basics of Braces

There are four main components to conventional braces—brackets, arch wire, bands, and ligature ties;

Brackets

Brackets are small guides that are bonded to the fronts of your teeth with a tooth-colored adhesive. Brackets hold your arch wires in place, allowing them the wires to move your teeth into their proper positions.

Arch wire

The arch wires that connect your brackets are the main guiding force behind tooth movement and are changed periodically throughout your treatment, typically growing in size to push your teeth further into position.

Bands

For additional tooth-moving power, Dr. Alpan may use bands, which are metal rings that are fitted around your molars and/or bicuspids. Though bands can aid in moving the front teeth, Dr. Alpan tries to use as few bands as possible.

Ligature ties

Ligature ties help hold the arch wire in place between your brackets. For your convenience, the small elastic bands can come in a variety of colors, or as metal wire, depending on your preference.

Learn More About Braces from Your Century City Orthodontist

To learn more about the need for straighter teeth, or to find out if braces or other orthodontic treatment is right for you, schedule an appointment with your Century City orthodontist by calling (310) 888-0066 today for a free initial consultation. Located in the 90211 area, we proudly serve patients across Century City and all surrounding communities.  For your convenience, we also have orthodontic offices in Los Angeles and Los Vegas.