Bracket

What the AAO glossary says a bracket is

In its Glossary of Orthodontic Terms, the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) describes the bracket this way: “The small metal, ceramic, or plastic attachment is bonded to each tooth with a tooth-colored adhesive.” The entry closes with the bracket’s everyday name, a brace. The AAO’s page on living with braces shows the bracket’s job in the appliance: “Brackets are bonded directly onto each tooth. The archwire is held in place by a series of brackets.”

Bracket or aligner attachment: the word to keep apart

Attachment is the word to keep apart from bracket, because the AAO’s glossary uses it for different parts. In the bracket entry, the attachment is the bracket itself, bonded to each tooth with a slot for the wire. The glossary’s separate Attachments entry is about clear aligner treatment instead: tooth-colored bumps on the teeth that help the aligners move them and are taken off when treatment ends. A bracket belongs to braces and an aligner attachment to clear aligner treatment, and each has its own entry in this glossary of orthodontic words.

Brackets in the practice’s metal and ceramic braces

Brackets come up in treatment at Kunik Orthodontics as part of braces, and the practice’s braces page names Metal Braces and Ceramic Braces. They consist of clear or metal brackets attached to each tooth.

If a bracket comes loose, or a wire works its way out of place, the AAO’s FAQ tells patients to notify the orthodontist immediately. The page on how metal and ceramic braces work sets out what to do until the visit.