MARA Appliance
MARA is an acronym for mandibular anterior repositioning appliance. It’s used to encourage forward growth of the lower jaw. It works well when the lower jaw needs to catch up to the upper jaw.
Quad Helix Appliance
This fixed, spring-loaded orthodontic appliance uses four helix springs primarily to expand the maxillary dental arch. The key function of the quad helix is dental (tooth) expansion; it’s not necessarily used for structural, boney expansion of the upper jaw width. While there is a little of this type of jaw expansion, the main goal with this helix is upper jaw dental width expansion.
Pendulum Appliance
The pendulum appliance is used to correct class II malocclusions by distalizing upper molars. It’s used to correct the patient’s bite on the side of their mouth. The appliance consists of a plastic “button” that touches the roof of the mouth, and resilient wire springs that act in a broad swinging arc to move the molars back.
The appliance uses the roof of the mouth as an anchor to move the molars back into their correct positions. Patients usually wear this appliance for three to five months.
Distal Jet Appliance
This is a non-removable lingual appliance used to move upper teeth backward faster and more predictably than with headgear. The distal jet distalizes molars and corrects teeth that have rotated. It corrects class II problems. The appliance uses a solid track wire and two sets of locking screws on each side. It’s also self-limiting by design, because it has a distal stop attached to the tracking wire. The distal jet can be converted to a nance appliance by tightening the distal and anterior locks against the track wire, and adding a nance holding arch.
Nance Appliance
This is used to prevent upper molars from rotating or moving forward after you’ve worn a headgear, or any other appliance to move your molars backward. Some patients wear the nance appliance while they’re waiting for their bicuspids to grow into place.
This appliance is made of two bands cemented onto the first molars, and a wire spans the roof of the mouth from one molar to the other. An acrylic pad or “button” covers the wire that touches the roof of your mouth directly behind your front teeth.
Patients should always brush around the bands daily. Be sure to not eat sticky, chewy candy, as it can loosen your appliance. If you have any problems with your nance appliance, please call our office right away.
Lip Bumpers
We like to avoid pulling teeth as often as possible, so we use lip bumpers on our patients who need to create more room for their crowded teeth. The lip bumper is a wire on the lower jaw that extends from one molar to another – and keeps lips and cheeks from touching your teeth. When you move your mouth or speak, your lips and cheeks push on the bumper, and the bumper applies pressure to the teeth. This pressure pushes the molars back, creating more space for overcrowded teeth.
If you have a lip bumper, remember to leave it in while eating, but to not eat hard or sticky foods. Proper, thorough brushing should remove any food that gets stuck in your lip bumper.