Crooked Teeth and Braces

Teeth don't always grow the way we want them to. They can overlap or point in the wrong direction. So sometimes your dentist will recommend straightening them with braces.

Braces can either be removable or fixed. Removable ones have a plastic plate that can be put into the mouth with wires and clips and can be taken out for eating or cleaning. With fixed ones, the orthodontist glues a metal bracket to each tooth and then runs a wire over them.

In either case, braces require children to pay extra attention to their brushing so no food remains caught in the wires.