Headgear is an orthodontic appliance attached to dental braces that aid in correcting severe bite problems. The headgear is attached to the braces and is anchored from the back of the head, neck or forehead. Its purpose is to stop the upper jaw from growing and to distalize the upper molars, hence preventing or correcting overbite. The type that is anchored on the forehead is used to medialize the upper molars, hence correcting or preventing under bite. There are two different headgears, one to correct overbite (cervical headgear) and one to treat under bites (reverse headgear). Headgear should be worn 10 to 14 hours daily, typically at night, or as directed by your dentist.

A gadget that the orthodontist gives you to wear after your braces are removed. The retainer attaches to your upper and/or lower teeth and holds them in the correct position. You wear the retainer 24 hours a day at first then at night to make sure that none of your teeth move while your jaw hardens and your teeth get strongly attached to your jaw.

If the primary tooth has come out and the permanent tooth is not erupting, a space maintainer may be used. This keeps the adjacent teeth from drifting into the open space, leaving room for the tooth to erupt.

After completing orthodontic therapy, it is not uncommon to still need a little fine tuning of tooth alignment. This is particularly true in patients who have undergone extensive orthodontic therapy and are simply "burned out."

This retainer is useful in correcting minor rotations and crowding. When worn, the spring action of the wires provide a light force to align the teeth. The appliance is constructed to the "ideal" setting and the patient's teeth adapt to their new position.

A lower lingual arch is a space maintainer for the lower teeth. It maintains the molars where they are and it does not move them. It keeps the molars from migrating forward and prevents them from blocking off space of teeth that develop later. Used when early loss of baby teeth or when lower teeth are slightly crowded.