Bite Turbos/Props | Herbst | Forsus | Rapid Palatal Expander | Quad Helix | Molar Uprighting Appliance | Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADS) | Lingual Arch | Nance Holding Arch | Bite Plate | Reverse Pull Facemask/Headgear | Crossbite Buttons | Space Maintainer | Splint | Damon Splint
Bite Turbos are small acrylic pads that are bonded to the tongue side of the upper front teeth (incisors) most commonly. They are a temporary addition to your treatment, and are used to correct excessive overbites and deep bites. Wearing bite turbos can reduce the amount of time spent in braces by 4-6 months.
When the Bite Turbos are initially placed the back teeth will not come completely together when chewing. This is a temporary condition, and eating soft foods for the first week will allow you to tolerate this new type of bite. Your speech may be slightly affected, but usually returns to normal within a week.
It is highly unlikely that a Bite Turbo will break loose. If one Bite Turbo does come off, it’s no problem. If you lose them both, please give us a call – we will probably replace them for you if the bite still needs more correction.
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One of the most common problems orthodontists treat is the discrepancy that occurs when the upper teeth protrude beyond the lower. Ordinarily, when we see a patient with the upper teeth protruding, we tend to think that the upper jaw and teeth are too far forward; but, more often than not, this condition is due to a small lower jaw that is further back than it should be. With these patients, we would like to encourage the lower jaw to catch up in growth, and braces like the Herbst appliance help this happen.
Even though the Herbst appliance prevents the lower jaw from moving backward, opening and closing movement still occur easily, and patients do not have any problems learning to chew their food with their lower jaw in this new position.
As with all kinds of braces, patients with Herbst appliances need to be careful about what they eat. For instance, cold foods such as ice slushes, Popsicles and ice will freeze the cement and make the brace loosen. Sticky foods such as caramels, bubble gum and candy suckers will pull the brace away from the teeth. Hard foods like crisp vegetables and hard candies will bend and loosen the Herbst appliance, too. So stay away from these foods during your orthodontic treatment.
Your Herbst appliance will be checked and adjusted at your appointments. If, sometimes between appointments, you develop some sore areas on the inside of your cheeks, please do not try to adjust the appliance yourself. Call for an appointment so that the necessary adjustments can be made.
Wearing a Herbst Appliance
At first, your mouth will feel unusually full and speaking will be awkward. But if you practice reading aloud, your ordinary speech will return quickly. You may also notice more saliva than normal, but this will decrease as you become accustomed to the appliance.
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The Forsus appliance is used in order to help move the upper molars back while moving the lower arch forward. Composed of a spring coil rod, the appliance is used while a patient is currently wearing braces. It runs from the upper first molar band down to the lower archwire. You may notice some discomfort initially, so we recommend a soft food diet for the first few days after the appliance is placed. Regular anti-inflammatory medication may help with any pain, if needed. It is important to keep the appliance clean; you may do this by carefully brushing the coil and other metal pieces of the appliance. Also, we recommend that patients not open their mouths very wide, as the appliance may come apart. If your Forsus appliance breaks, please contact our office immediately to schedule a repair appointment.
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Attached to the upper molars through bonding or by cemented bands, the Rapid Palatal Expander is an orthodontic device used to create a wider space in the upper jaw. It is typically used when the upper jaw is too narrow for the lower jaw or when the upper teeth are crowded or blocked out of the dental arch.
When patients are still growing, their connective tissue between the left and right halves of their upper jaw is very responsive to expansion. By simply activating the expander through turning a screw in the center, with a special key we provide, gradual outward pressure is placed on the left and right halves of the upper jaw. This pressure causes an increased amount of bone to grow between the right and left halves of the jaw, ultimately resulting in an increased width.
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A Quad Helix is an appliance designed to widen your jaws to create room for alignment of your crowded teeth. It is attached to your molars by two bands and has four active helix springs that widen the arch of your mouth.
The helix is activated prior to cementation and will be adjusted as necessary throughout your treatment. There is a short adjustment period and speech may be temporarily affected. Special attention to brushing is required with this appliance and you have to make sure that you brush thoroughly after every meal.
If an imprint appears on your tongue from this appliance, don't get alarmed: this is this is normal. Do not use your fingers or tongue to play with your Quad Helix because it can affect treatment or break your appliance. »
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One of the many important advances in orthodontics has been the development of temporary anchorage devices, or TADs. Made of a bio-compatible titanium alloy, TADs are miniscrew anchors which are inserted into specific places in the mouth to be used as a fixed point from which teeth can move. Before TADs, orthodontists who wanted to move some teeth while keeping others still, or to achieve orthodontic movement in a mouth with missing teeth, had to rely on headgear for their fixed point. But TADs now provide an option for that fixed point that is smaller, more discrete, more efficient and requires significantly less work for the patient.
Temporary anchorage devices may not be recommended for everyone, and in fact, anchorage devices at all may not be needed in all cases. Contact us if you’d like to know more about TADs and how they can potentially prevent you from needing orthodontic headgear.
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The Lingual Arch is a space maintainer which allows the side adult teeth to have room to grow in properly. It can also be useful to regain lost space where primary teeth have been removed prematurely, and teeth have unfavorably drifted into the space needed for the other adult teeth.
The Nance Holding Arch is used to prevent upper molars from rotating or moving forward after you’ve worn a headgear or any other appliance to move your molars back. Some patients wear the Nance Holding Arch while they are awaiting their bicuspids to grow into place.
This appliance is made of two bands that are cemented onto the first molars and a wire spans the roof of the mouth from one molar to the other. An acrylic pad or “button” covers the wire that touches the roof of your mouth directly behind your front teeth.
Patients should always brush around the bands daily. Do not eat sticky, chewy candy as it can loosen your appliance. If you have any problems with your Nance Holding Arch, please call our office immediately.
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The bite plate is designed to correct a deep bite (when the upper front teeth come down too far over the lower front teeth).
Initially, there may be an adjustment period and speech may be affected for a short period of time. When wearing your bite pate, it is normal if your back teeth do not meet all the way. It may take a few weeks to completely adjust to your new bite plate.
For optimal results, the bite plate should be worn 24 hours a day and only removed for eating and brushing. As with any orthodontic appliance, you should brush all parts of your bite plate as well as your teeth. Depending on the amount of correction needed, the bite plate may be worn for 3 to 6 months. Make sure to bring it to every appointment.
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In some cases where an underbite is present, we may recommend using reverse headgear (facemask) as part of the treatment plan. This appliance is designed to fix the discrepancy between your upper and lower jaws by moving the upper jaw forward to correct the malocclusion.
For the results to be successful, patient compliance is of the utmost importance. It may take several days to become accustomed to the appliance. With practice, it will become easier to place and remove the reverse headgear. We will determine the length of time you should wear your headgear, but it is generally 10-14 hours per day, which can include wearing while you sleep. You should not wear your headgear while participating in sporting activities.
Sometimes your chin may get irritated from the headgear. If this happens, you should always keep the area clean and often change the insert in the chin cup. If the skin becomes very dry, the use of moisturizing cream twice a day can be helpful. If your jaw joints are extremely sore or you cannot open and close your mouth without difficulty, stop wearing the appliance and contact us for further instructions as we may need to fit you with a different appliance. Also, if your headgear breaks or is bent, call us so we can fit you in with a repair appointment so your treatment will not be delayed.
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A baby tooth is sometimes lost prematurely because of tooth decay or injury. If this occurs before the permanent tooth is ready to erupt the nearby teeth can shift or drift into the space where the primary tooth use to be creating a lack of space in the jaw for the permanent teeth. The teeth in the other jaw may also move up or down to fill in the gap.
If this crowding happens there may not be enough room for the new tooth to come in correctly, so it emerges lopsided or is not able to erupt at all.
Space maintainers are appliances made of wire that are custom fit to your child’s mouth. They are small and unobtrusive in appearance. Most children easily adjust to them after the first few days. Back to Top
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A Damon Splint is a special type of retainer that holds both tooth alignment and bite correction at the same time. It is only worn at night but is a critical part of your treatment. Initially you will be asked to wear it for 4 hours during the day (does not have to be 4 hours in a row) and then from after dinner until morning (12 hours). After you become accustomed to wearing the Damon splint, you will only have to wear it when you are sleeping
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