Braces can adjust the positioning of your teeth and jaw. A dental professional may recommend them to help align crooked teeth, modify the spacing between teeth, or correct a bad bite.

When you have braces, small fixtures called brackets are attached to your teeth. A thin metal wire called an archwire runs through these brackets. The archwire is gradually adjusted to apply force, moving your teeth into the desired position.

For braces to work effectively, the archwire must remain secured in the brackets.

Traditional braces achieve this by using elastic bands or metal ties. In contrast, self-ligating braces use a system built into the bracket itself to hold the archwire.