Make the Most of Your Smile
Traditional metal braces are the most common way to transform smiles at Great Lakes Bay Orthodontics. These orthodontic icons are known for successfully straightening smiles at every age for patients throughout Midland, Bay City, and West Branch.
About Metal Braces
At Great Lakes Bay Orthodontics, you’ll enjoy the latest braces technology to transform your smile. Traditional metal braces are tough and affordable, making them the top treatment for orthodontic patients in Midland, Bay City, and West Branch.
Metal braces were known for being awkward and obvious, but modern versions are smaller, less conspicuous, and more comfortable to wear.
Braces are great at fixing complex tooth issues and work faster to close gaps and align teeth than other treatments, potentially shortening your treatment time at Great Lakes Bay Orthodontics.
Metal braces are cost-effective because they don’t require some of the more complex technology or expensive equipment that newer treatments do.
What Are Braces Made of?
Brackets
Your Great Lakes Bay orthodontist uses durable braces brackets made from a mix of stainless steel, nickel, and other metals and has little hooks or doors where we thread a wire.
Your Midland, Bay City, and West Branch braces experts secure your bracket by closing the door or placing an elastic over the top of the wire.
Glue
This is how your orthodontist attaches the brackets to your teeth.
Wire
This thin piece of metal runs from one bracket to another. Your orthodontist shapes and curves the wire so your teeth move in the right direction.
Typically, the wire attaches to all of your bottom or upper teeth, but we might occasionally cut the wire if connecting just a few teeth is better for your treatment plan.
Elastics
If you need bite correction, elastics are essential. We usually string elastics between an upper and lower bracket hook.
This pressure pulls your upper jaw backward to correct an overbite or the lower jaw back to correct an underbite. At Great Lakes Bay Orthodontics, we use rubber bands for many different situations, especially when we want to put extra pressure on the teeth or jaws.
Orthodontic Bands
We cement these stainless steel rings to your teeth using dental bonding agents. These bands anchor your braces and orthodontic appliances, but we don’t use them for everyone.
Spacers
Your orthodontist uses these tiny elastic “donuts” or rings to create space between your teeth when needed, typically before we place your bands. People also refer to them as "separators.”
Elastic Ties/O-Rings/Ligatures/Colors
We use these tiny rubber rings or bands to attach the archwire to the brackets. Elastics are less rigid than spacers, and you can get them in dozens of colors.