Braces 101 with Dr. Richard Talbot Orthodontics

If you ever sustain damage to your braces and need to call Dr. Richard Talbot Orthodontics, we can help you more effectively if you can tell us exactly which piece is in trouble! Here’s a handy diagram and corresponding list of all the parts that make up your braces.

Elastic Tie: Tiny rubber band that fits around the bracket to hold the archwire in place.

Archwire: The main wire that acts as a track to guide the teeth along. It's changed periodically throughout treatment, as teeth move to their new positions.

Loop in Archwire: Frequently used for closing space left by an extraction. Many archwires don't have a loop.

Bracket: Small attachment that holds the archwire in place. Most often, a bracket is cemented directly onto the tooth's surface, eliminating the need for a band.

Headgear Tube: Round, hollow attachment on the back bands. The inner bow of the headgear fits into it.

Coil Spring: Fits between brackets and over archwire to open space between teeth.

Tie Wire: Fine wire that is twisted around the bracket to hold the archwire in place.

Band: A thin ring of metal fitted around a tooth and cemented in place. The band provides a way to attach the brackets to the tooth.

Hook: Welded or removable arm to which elastics (rubber bands) are attached.

Elastic (Rubber Band): Small rubber band that is hooked between different points on the appliance to provide pressure to move the teeth.

Hope this helps! Give us a call if you have any questions!

Ask Dr. Talbot: "How do you treat patients with special needs?"

At Dr. Talbot’s orthodontic office, the diversity of patient needs requires a flexible yet consistent quality of patient care. Many of our patients would be considered “special needs" and do require appropriate personal care. Regardless of the patient’s limitations, our staff will always give the best of care to everyone without compromise. Sometimes we may take more time with a patient or schedule a number of shorter appointments to get the same result. This is determined by the patient’s specific physical and mental needs and/or limitations. The parents are a critical part in this process as they know their child best and can enlighten us as we begin treatment.

Communication and education is always first and foremost with the patients and parents in our practice. This gives patients a foundation for understanding how the braces do what they do and what the patient’s part is in their treatment. At every visit we explain what we will be doing that day at the beginning of the appointment and then also explain as we go step by step to make sure patients are comfortable with the process. We also talk about the goal of having straight teeth in the future to remind them why we are doing what we do. This part of treating patients may change slightly with a “special needs” individual only in the sense that it takes a little more explaining, some affirmation as they cooperate, and possibly a break or two throughout the process to allow them time to adjust and cope with the appointment.

When preparing for a visit, parents should always put a positive spin on the news that their child will be visiting the orthodontist. We take hi-tech pictures, tour the whole office to let them see what we do here, play the video games and contests just to make their visit as fun as possible. We love to make everyone who visits our office smile!

Please contact our Citrus Heights orthodontic office at (916) 965-8026 or our Roseville Orthodontic office at (916) 773-8338 to schedule your child's complimentary consultation!

Ask Dr. Talbot: “I’m 38 – am I too old for braces?”

Thanks for the question, and of course not!

Recently, our staff read a fascinating statistic: the number of adults getting braces has actually climbed 24 percent since 1996! Yes, braces help make your pearly whites strong, healthy and perfectly-aligned, but perhaps another reason for the spike in adult braces is this: people want to look and feel great. In an age—and society—where looks matter as much as anything, and at a time when evenly-aligned and sparkling teeth might be the difference between getting a job or a promotion, adults are choosing—wisely, we might add—to invest in orthodontics. Orthodontic treatment with Dr. Talbot can be successful at any age, and adults especially appreciate the benefits of a beautiful smile.

If you’ve been thinking about getting that perfect smile, Dr. Talbot & team would love to have you visit for a consultation. Please give us a call to set one up!

Our staff member shares her story with braces!

Check out what a member of our team at Dr. Talbot's office wrote about her experience with braces as a child!

Many times we think back on our childhood and remember fearful times. Usually fear or anxiety about a situation happened because the outcome was unknown. For the most part change takes a little courage to face.

I remember when I was told as a very young girl that I would someday have to get braces. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to feel. No one in my family had gone through orthodontics. All I knew for sure was that after my braces, maybe I would “look normal” and the kids would not tease me anymore about looking like a “bulldog”. I was at that time very excited for the change but disappointed when the orthodontist said I must wait until I was 14 years old to have braces and make a change.

My orthodontic needs were a bit more than the average braces and retainers. I had an overgrowth of my lower jaw which caused my lower teeth to protrude in front of my upper teeth, which attributed to “the bulldog look”. I waited a few years for my braces to be put on, and wore them with pride flashing that “silver smile”. I knew the change was coming and kept my eye on the goal with brushing and wearing rubber bands. My apprehension about the braces I think was overshadowed by the other stage of my treatment, orthognathic surgery. About halfway through my braces I had a surgery that removed bone in my lower jaw to make the correction in the skeletal relationship of my bite. My result was phenomenal and changed my outlook in life!

I believe that most of the FEAR of braces is due to stories that others have shared and often those sharing the stories either are only focusing on the bad experiences with braces or they have heard stories from others and have not had braces themselves at all. FEAR is “False Evidence Appearing Real”. The best thing that we can do to alleviate our fears is to ask questions, a lot of questions because the more we know the better we feel about anything that we may experience.

Think of all the beautiful smiles that are created with braces. It’s a life long change that is yours to keep. Someone may be afraid of what others will say but the truth is people will always find something to say good or bad, and after you have your braces it will be all about your beautiful smile. Be brave, you deserve it!