CONVENTIONAL METAL FIXED APPLIANCES

These are the most common form of appliance used in children and are often also termed 'train tracks'.

They are most commonly made from stainless steel and attached onto the teeth using tooth coloured filling material (composite resin). Care has to be taken eating hard foods as the attachment can easily be broken leading to a disruption in treatment. An orthodontic wire (archwire) is tied (or ligated) into the bracket using coloured elastic rings which can discolour in-between visits. These elastics can be silver coloured to blend in which the appliance or brightly coloured.