Loose-fitting removable orthodontic appliances which redirect the pressures of the facial and masticatory muscles onto the teeth and their supporting structures to produce improvements in tooth arrangements and occlusal relations.

Devices used for influencing tooth position. Orthodontic appliances may be classified as fixed or removable, active or retaining, and intraoral or extraoral. (Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p19)

Dental devices such as RETAINERS, ORTHODONTIC used to improve gaps in teeth and structure of the jaws. These devices can be removed and reinserted at will.

The planning, calculation, and creation of an apparatus for the purpose of correcting the placement or straightening of teeth.

Loose, usually removable intra-oral devices which alter the muscle forces against the teeth and craniofacial skeleton. These are dynamic appliances which depend on altered neuromuscular action to effect bony growth and occlusal development. They are usually used in mixed dentition to treat pediatric malocclusions. (ADA, 1992)

Extraoral devices for applying force to the dentition in order to avoid some of the problems in anchorage control met with in intermaxillary traction and to apply force in directions not otherwise possible.

Malocclusion in which the mandible is posterior to the maxilla as reflected by the relationship of the first permanent molar (distoclusion).

Moving a retruded mandible forward to a normal position. It is commonly performed for malocclusion and retrognathia. (From Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992)

Orthodontic techniques used to correct the malposition of a single tooth.

The phase of orthodontics concerned with the correction of malocclusion with proper appliances and prevention of its sequelae (Jablonski's Illus. Dictionary of Dentistry).

Rigid or flexible appliances that overlay the occlusal surfaces of the teeth. They are used to treat clenching and bruxism and their sequelae, and to provide temporary relief from muscle or temporomandibular joint pain.

The measurement of the dimensions of the HEAD.

The largest and strongest bone of the FACE constituting the lower jaw. It supports the lower teeth.

An orthodontic method used for correcting narrow or collapsed maxillary arches and functional cross-bite. (From Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry),

One of a pair of irregularly shaped bones that form the upper jaw. A maxillary bone provides tooth sockets for the superior teeth, forms part of the ORBIT, and contains the MAXILLARY SINUS.

A proteolytic enzyme in the serine protease family found in many tissues which converts PLASMINOGEN to FIBRINOLYSIN. It has fibrin-binding activity and is immunologically different from UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR. The primary sequence, composed of 527 amino acids, is identical in both the naturally occurring and synthetic proteases.

A physical misalignment of the upper (maxilla) and lower (mandibular) jaw bones in which either or both recede relative to the frontal plane of the forehead.

Wires of various dimensions and grades made of stainless steel or precious metal. They are used in orthodontic treatment.

A malocclusion in which maxillary incisor and canine teeth project over the mandiblar teeth excessively. The overlap is measured perpendicular to the occlusal plane and is also called vertical overlap. When the overlap is measured parallel to the occlusal plane it is referred to as overjet.

Various material objects and items in the home. It includes temporary or permanent machinery and appliances. It does not include furniture or interior furnishings (FURNITURE see INTERIOR DESIGN AND FURNISHINGS; INTERIOR FURNISHINGS see INTERIOR DESIGN AND FURNISHINGS).

The length of the face determined by the distance of separation of jaws. Occlusal vertical dimension (OVD or VDO) or contact vertical dimension is the lower face height with the teeth in centric occlusion. Rest vertical dimension (VDR) is the lower face height measured from a chin point to a point just below the nose, with the mandible in rest position. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p250)

The most posterior teeth on either side of the jaw, totaling eight in the deciduous dentition (2 on each side, upper and lower), and usually 12 in the permanent dentition (three on each side, upper and lower). They are grinding teeth, having large crowns and broad chewing surfaces. (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p821)

A member of the serpin family of proteins. It inhibits both the tissue-type and urokinase-type plasminogen activators.

A proteolytic enzyme that converts PLASMINOGEN to FIBRINOLYSIN where the preferential cleavage is between ARGININE and VALINE. It was isolated originally from human URINE, but is found in most tissues of most VERTEBRATES.

Such malposition and contact of the maxillary and mandibular teeth as to interfere with the highest efficiency during the excursive movements of the jaw that are essential for mastication. (Jablonski, Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982)

Any of the eight frontal teeth (four maxillary and four mandibular) having a sharp incisal edge for cutting food and a single root, which occurs in man both as a deciduous and a permanent tooth. (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p820)

Presentation devices used for patient education and technique training in dentistry.

Contact between opposing teeth during a person's habitual bite.

Orthodontic appliances, fixed or removable, used to maintain teeth in corrected positions during the period of functional adaptation following corrective treatment. These appliances are also used to maintain the positions of the teeth and jaws gained by orthodontic procedures. (From Zwemer, Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p263)

The process of growth and differentiation of the jaws and face.

The complement of teeth in the jaws after the eruption of some of the permanent teeth but before all the deciduous teeth are absent. (Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed)

Small metal or ceramic attachments used to fasten an arch wire. These attachments are soldered or welded to an orthodontic band or cemented directly onto the teeth. Bowles brackets, edgewise brackets, multiphase brackets, ribbon arch brackets, twin-wire brackets, and universal brackets are all types of orthodontic brackets.

The curve formed by the row of TEETH in their normal position in the JAW. The inferior dental arch is formed by the mandibular teeth, and the superior dental arch by the maxillary teeth.

One of the eight permanent teeth, two on either side in each jaw, between the canines (CUSPID) and the molars (MOLAR), serving for grinding and crushing food. The upper have two cusps (bicuspid) but the lower have one to three. (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p822)

Recognition and elimination of potential irregularities and malpositions in the developing dentofacial complex.

The facial skeleton, consisting of bones situated between the cranial base and the mandibular region. While some consider the facial bones to comprise the hyoid (HYOID BONE), palatine (HARD PALATE), and zygomatic (ZYGOMA) bones, MANDIBLE, and MAXILLA, others include also the lacrimal and nasal bones, inferior nasal concha, and vomer but exclude the hyoid bone. (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p113)

Migration of the teeth toward the midline or forward in the DENTAL ARCH. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed)

A mixture of metallic elements or compounds with other metallic or metalloid elements in varying proportions for use in restorative or prosthetic dentistry.

Malocclusion in which the mandible is anterior to the maxilla as reflected by the first relationship of the first permanent molar (mesioclusion).

Malocclusion in which the mandible and maxilla are anteroposteriorly normal as reflected by the relationship of the first permanent molar (i.e., in neutroclusion), but in which individual teeth are abnormally related to each other.

A dental specialty concerned with the prevention and correction of dental and oral anomalies (malocclusion).

The relationship of all the components of the masticatory system in normal function. It has special reference to the position and contact of the maxillary and mandibular teeth for the highest efficiency during the excursive movements of the jaw that are essential for mastication. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p556, p472)

The stable placement of surgically induced fractures of the mandible or maxilla through the use of elastics, wire ligatures, arch bars, or other splints. It is used often in the cosmetic surgery of retrognathism and prognathism. (From Dorland, 28th ed, p636)

An extracellular receptor specific for UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR. It is attached to the cell membrane via a GLYCOSYLPHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL LINKAGE and plays a role in the co-localization of urokinase-type plasminogen activator with PLASMINOGEN.

Either of the two fleshy, full-blooded margins of the mouth.

A heterogeneous group of proteolytic enzymes that convert PLASMINOGEN to FIBRINOLYSIN. They are concentrated in the lysosomes of most cells and in the vascular endothelium, particularly in the vessels of the microcirculation.

Attachment of orthodontic devices and materials to the MOUTH area for support and to provide a counterforce to orthodontic forces.

Resorption in which cementum or dentin is lost from the root of a tooth owing to cementoclastic or osteoclastic activity in conditions such as trauma of occlusion or neoplasms. (Dorland, 27th ed)

An essential cofactor for the degradation of G(M2)GANGLIOSIDE by lysosomal BETA-N-ACETYLHEXOSAMINIDASES. Genetic mutations resulting in loss of G(M2) activator protein are one of the causes of TAY-SACHS DISEASE, AB VARIANT.

Stainless steel. A steel containing Ni, Cr, or both. It does not tarnish on exposure and is used in corrosive environments. (Grant & Hack's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

An index which scores the degree of dental plaque accumulation.

Skills, techniques, standards, and principles used to improve the art and symmetry of the teeth and face to improve the appearance as well as the function of the teeth, mouth, and face. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p108)

The posterior process on the ramus of the mandible composed of two parts: a superior part, the articular portion, and an inferior part, the condylar neck.