About Your Orthodontic Headgear

Your headgear has been prescribed for any of the following reasons:

• To hold or move back the upper teeth and upper jaw
• To hold or move up or down the upper teeth or upper jaw
• To allow and enhance development of the lower jaw and to encourage it to grow properly

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About Your Palatal Expander

What Does it Do?
Your palatal expander acts to gently expand and increase the width of your upper arch.

What Does it Look Like?
Although palatal expanders can have many different forms, they all have certain elements in common. Palatal expanders may be either removable or fixed in place. All expanders are connected to the upper teeth by either clasps or bands. All expanders have an expansion screw or coil incorporated into the appliance. It is this screw or coil that generates the gentle forces necessary to achieve the needed expansion.

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About Your Orthodontic Elastics

What Do They Do?
• Elastics are used for any of the following reasons:
• To move individual teeth
• To move groups of teeth
• To help your teeth settle and fit together

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About Your Retainers

What Do They Do?
Retainers are as important a part of your orthodontic treatment as brackets, bands, and wires. Due to the physiologic forces that are always present in your mouth, teeth have a tendency to move. Your retainers are the only thing that stand between your orthodontic result and the return of your teeth to their original uncorrected positions. Retainers are to hold your teeth until the bone and soft tissue surrounding your teeth have a chance to adapt to the new positions of your teeth.

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About Your Orthodontic Separators

What Do They Do?
Separators act to gently separate your teeth very slightly to allow enough space for the placement of your orthodontic bands.

What Do They Look Like?
Separators are made of biocompatible latex rubber and are shaped like tiny rings. The separators are placed between the teeth which are to be banded.

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About Your Braces | What YOU need to know

Now that you have your orthodontic appliances, remember to keep the following in mind:

1. Use wax to cover any edge or surface of your appliance that may irritate your lips, cheeks, or tongue.

2. Use Tylenol, Aspirin, or Advil (whatever you would usually take for headaches) in the usual dosage to control any discomfort that may occur. A period of discomfort lasting 24 to 48 hours after your appliance adjustments is normal and to be expected. The level of discomfort varies from individual to individual, however, you can expect the discomfort to be the approximate level of an average headache.

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The Right Time for an Orthodontic Check-Up

There is a myth that orthodontic treatment is not important until all the baby teeth have fallen out, and all the adult teeth have grown in -- this is simply not the case. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that all children get an orthodontic check-up no later than age 7.
Click here to read more about the right time for an orthodontic check-up.

About Your Klearway™ Oral Appliance

The Klearway™ Oral Appliance is a product of today’s most thorough research on the treatment of snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea.

Click here for a booklet on everything you need to know about your Klearway® Appliance.