Orthodontic treatment

Corrective Orthodontics

Corrective orthodontics (MeSH D009971) is the phase of orthodontics correcting established malocclusion with appliances, distinct from interceptive and preventive orthodontics; covers history, appliances, evidence, and risks.

Dental Debonding

Dental debonding (MeSH D017005): techniques for removing bonded orthodontic appliances, restorations, or fixed dentures from teeth. Key issue is iatrogenic enamel damage during adhesive clean-up; tungsten carbide burs dominate the evidence.

Dental Occlusion

Dental occlusion is the contact relationship between the teeth of the upper and lower jaws, studied both as static contacts at rest and as dynamic contacts during chewing.

Extraoral Traction Appliances

Extraoral traction appliances are orthodontic devices, including headgear, face bows, and chincaps, that apply force from outside the mouth to move teeth or modify jaw growth.

Fixed Orthodontic Appliances

Fixed orthodontic appliances (braces) attach brackets to teeth with an arch wire to move teeth. From Fauchard's 1728 bandolet and Angle's Edgewise bracket to bonding, Ni-Ti wires, and self-ligating brackets.

Functional Orthodontic Appliances

Functional orthodontic appliances (activator, Herbst, Twin Block, Frankel regulator) are removable or fixed devices that correct Class II malocclusion by posturing the mandible forward, using muscle forces to modify jaw growth in children.

Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need

The Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) is a dental index, developed by Brook and Shaw in 1989, that grades malocclusion severity to determine need for orthodontic treatment.

Interceptive orthodontic treatment

Interceptive orthodontic treatment is the short-term correction of developing malocclusions and jaw discrepancies in children, redirecting growth in 9 to 15 months to reduce or avoid later treatment.

Interceptive Orthodontics

Interceptive orthodontics is the branch of orthodontics that treats a developing malocclusion during the primary or mixed dentition, typically starting no later than age 7, to simplify later care.

Oct 15, 2026

Invisalign

Invisalign is a brand of clear dental aligners made by Align Technology, custom-made removable plastic trays that gradually move teeth as an alternative to traditional fixed braces.

Orthodontic Anchorage Procedures

Orthodontic anchorage procedures (orthodontic anchorage techniques) attach devices in the mouth to resist unwanted tooth movement, ranging from headgear and transpalatal arches to titanium miniscrews and miniplates, with miniscrew failure rates around 13.5%.

Orthodontic Appliance Design

Orthodontic Appliance Design: planning and creation of devices to straighten teeth, spanning Andrews' straight-wire brackets, functional appliances, clear aligners, and CAD/CAM and FEA design methods.

Orthodontic Appliances

Orthodontic appliances (braces, aligners, functional appliances, retainers) are devices for influencing tooth position, classified as fixed or removable, active or retaining, intraoral or extraoral; from Fauchard's 1728 bandolet to Invisalign.

Orthodontic extrusion

Orthodontic extrusion, also called forced eruption, is an orthodontic technique that slowly moves a tooth out of its socket to expose fractured or subgingival structure for restoration.

Orthodontic Retainers

Orthodontic retainers (fixed bonded wires, Hawley, clear vacuum-formed) hold teeth after braces; relapse affects over half of patients at 10 years without retention.

Orthodontic Space Closure

Orthodontic space closure is the orthodontic procedure of closing gaps between teeth, usually premolar extraction sites, using sliding or loop mechanics to move teeth along an archwire.

Orthodontic space maintenance

Orthodontic space maintenance, or space maintenance, uses fixed or removable appliances to hold the gap left by a prematurely lost primary tooth until the permanent tooth erupts.

Orthodontic Wires

Orthodontic wires, chiefly arch wires, are the force-delivering backbone of fixed braces. Evolved from gold alloy through stainless steel to superelastic and heat-activated nickel-titanium, beta-titanium, and aesthetic or bactericide wires.

Orthodontists

Orthodontists are dental specialists trained to correct malocclusions with fixed braces or clear aligners. Also called orthodontic specialists; the largest US dental specialty, about 5% of dentists, with documented treatment risks and heavy education debt.

Palatal expansion

Palatal expansion, also called maxillary expansion, is an orthodontic treatment that widens the upper jaw at the midpalatal suture, correcting narrow palates and posterior crossbites.

Preventive Orthodontics

Preventive orthodontics, also called space maintenance or interceptive orthodontics, prevents malocclusion in children after premature primary tooth loss. Key facts: space maintainers, very low evidence strength, individualized AAPD decision factors.

Removable Orthodontic Appliances

Removable orthodontic appliances are patient-removable dental devices (retainers, functional appliances, simple tooth-movers, clear aligners) used to close tooth gaps and guide jaw structure; first used by Kneisel in 1836, best for mild-to-moderate malocclusion.

Serial Extraction

Serial extraction (guidance of eruption) is an interceptive orthodontic procedure: planned sequential extraction of deciduous then first premolar teeth in mixed dentition to relieve severe arch crowding, requiring about 5 years of supervision and later fixed appliances.