Orthodontics Practice Glossary

The clinical procedure of removing fixed orthodontic appliances (brackets, bands, and archwires) from the teeth at the c...

The clinical procedure of removing fixed orthodontic brackets and residual adhesive from the tooth surfaces at the concl...

The demineralisation of enamel caused by prolonged acid exposure, often seen around orthodontic brackets as white spot l...

An estimate of a patient's biological maturity based on the stage of tooth development and eruption, as distinct from ch...

Small composite resin shapes bonded to tooth surfaces to improve the grip and directional force of clear aligners during...

The imaginary vertical line dividing the dental arch into left and right halves, used to assess symmetry between upper a...

The full and formal name of the panoramic radiograph machine or the resulting image, capturing all teeth and supporting...

A structured written document generated by a reporting clinician that describes the radiographic findings of a DPT, incl...

The natural or treatment-induced tilting or movement of teeth within the alveolar bone to mask or adapt to an underlying...

A gap or space between two adjacent teeth, most commonly referring to the midline space between the maxillary central in...

The orthodontic movement of teeth in a posterior (distal) direction, most commonly applied to upper molars to create spa...

The 'aesthetic plane' defined by Ricketts as a line from the tip of the nose to the tip of the chin, used to assess the...

Small rubber bands worn by orthodontic patients between hooks on the upper and lower fixed appliances to apply inter-arc...

A vacuum-formed, transparent plastic retainer fabricated over a dental model to maintain tooth positions following ortho...

A two-digit tooth numbering system in which the first digit identifies the quadrant and the second identifies the tooth...

The final series of rectangular stainless steel or beta-titanium archwires used in the closing stages of fixed appliance...

An orthodontic device bonded or banded directly to the teeth that cannot be removed by the patient, used to achieve prec...

A craniofacial reference plane passing through the porion and orbitale, used as a standard baseline in cephalometric ana...

A removable or fixed orthodontic device that harnesses the forces of orofacial muscles to modify jaw growth and correct...

The amount of gum tissue visible above the upper anterior teeth during smiling, used as an aesthetic assessment paramete...

A removable orthodontic retainer comprising an acrylic palatal plate and a labial bow wire, used to maintain tooth posit...

An extraoral orthodontic appliance that applies force via attachments to the molar bands or facebow to control skeletal...

A tooth that fails to erupt into the dental arch due to obstruction by bone, another tooth, or soft tissue, requiring or...

The antero-posterior relationship of the upper and lower incisor teeth as defined by the British Standards Institute cla...