Be careful not to pull with too much force around the arch wire.

Brackets act like handles, holding the arch wires that move the teeth.

Arch wires attach to the brackets and act as tracks to guide the movement of the teeth.

The teeth move when the arch wire puts pressure on the brackets and teeth.

Arch wires can be made of metal or be clear or tooth-colored.

Ties are small rubber rings or fine wires that fasten the arch wire to the brackets.

Tiny elastic rubber bands, called ligatures, hold the arch wires to the brackets.

Springs may be placed on the arch wires between brackets to push, pull, open, or close the spaces between teeth.

When teeth move, the end of the arch wire may become displaced, causing it to poke the back of the patient's cheek.

A buccal tube on the band of the last tooth holds the end of the arch wire securely in place.

The flosser uses the anatomy of the patient's tooth to assist in supporting the floss, allowing the product to slide under the arch wire.

In the case of traditional metal or wire braces, one uses brackets, bonding material, arch wire, and ligature elastic, also called an "O-ring" to help align the teeth.

To floss your teeth if you have braces, feed the short end of the floss through the space between the main arch wire and the upper portion of the tooth closest to the gum.

A Roman tomb was found with a number of teeth bound with gold wire documented as a ligature wire, a small elastic wire that is used to affix the arch wire to the bracket.

Dr. George F. Andreasen, an orthodontist who introduced an alloy of nickel and titanium for use in arch wires to straighten teeth, died of multiple myeloma Friday at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.

The boat, a rudimentary vessel Craig built himself with a 500-cubic-inch V-8 Cadillac engine hooked up to a noisy propeller and separated from the driver's seat by an arched wire shield, rounds the inlets with precision and speed.