How do braces work?

From the brains behind brains on, this is the Moment of Um. Moment of Um comes to you from APM Studios. I'm Anna Wegel. Hi. It's so good to talk to you. Oh, why is my voice so dazzling and bright? Oh, that's because it's pouring through my very, very perfect straight teeth. Can you tell that at 40 years old, I diligently wear my retainer at least once a year?

Yes, it's true. I had braces for about six months when I was 13 years old. And there were two things that I desperately wanted at that age. Braces. And glasses. Because both seemed so cool. I used to fake having bad vision because I was so excited about the thought of getting to wear awesome glasses. But my parents saw through that one. Probably because they both had glasses.

They didn't see through my crooked teeth, though. There was no fooling that I had two front teeth that faced each other. Can you picture it? Really unique. But I remember sitting down in the orthodontist chair, closing my eyes, and a few minutes later... I had braces. They did the trick and straightened out my teeth, but just what was that trick and how exactly did it work? Claire had the same question.

So braces, whenever we talk about this, we are thinking about straightening the teeth. Hello, hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Arnaud Wright. I'm socially known as The Daily Dentist. I am a general dentist and I practice in the Orlando, Florida area. So what our young patients can expect are pretty much three parts that are associated with braces. So you have a bracket. Those are pretty much the little squares that they stick on each tooth. Kind of like, you know.

a little superhero sidekick, right? Then you have a wire. It spans all of the brackets. So you'll see a wire that goes between and it like connects the dots. If you think of the brackets as dots, then the wire is going to be like the string that connects those dots. And then you also will see rubber bands. So those are the three things. The braces are going to gently move the teeth.

into that straight position or the ideal occlusion is what we call it in dentistry. But just putting them in that straight position so that they are functioning and they are, when you're eating, they are pretty much paired. perfectly to the neighboring tooth and the tooth that's above it in the top arch. So in the top arch and the bottom arch, making sure that those teeth come together in the most ideal manner.

The easiest way to describe that is just small amount of force that's placed on the teeth over time. And so the orthodontist, they will perfectly craft a plan that tilts the tooth. a certain number of millimeters or in a certain direction over time. And that's why when you have braces on or, you know, if a friend of yours has had braces on, that's why it takes such a long time because there's these little tiny

movements that each of those parts are making over time. It does improve patients smile, you know, by having straight teeth, but from an oral hygiene and a preventative. perspective, braces help you clean your teeth better at home.

Okay, so those wires in my old braces were connected to the brackets, and they were pulling or pushing on those brackets, which in turn pulled or pushed my teeth into new positions. That's how I got this utterly... fabulous smile. You know, one thing braces taught me was the importance of clean teeth. If I didn't clean them regularly, I could get cereal or salad or a sandwich stuck in them.

If you have braces, it's recommended to brush after every meal, give your mouth a great swish, make sure you're coming in at the right angle with your toothbrush, and floss regularly using a floss threader or water pick. And don't forget to take your time. My three-year-old daughter loves to flip over a sand timer to make sure she brushes for two full minutes. Right, Luna? Right. Brushing your teeth is very important.

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If you have a question, we'd love to help you answer it. Drop us a line by going to BrainsOn.org contact. Moment of Um is produced by Molly Bloom, Rachel Breeze, Rosie DuPont, Anna Goldfield, Ruby Guthrie, Mark Sanchez, Anna Wegel, Nico Gonzalez-Whistler, and Aram Moldeslasi. We had editing help from Shayla Farzan and Sandin Totten, and engineering help from Josh Savajo. Our theme song is by Mark Sanchez. Our executive producer is Beth Perlman.

The executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks this week go to Ali Conroe, Jerry Kozenmacher, and Dr. Arnell Wright. See you next time and the next day and every weekday. Until then. You brush your teeth. Brush your teeth.