These appliances have several things in common. They all have bands fitted to molars and an impression taken with the bands in place. The bands are removed from the teeth and placed back into the impression which will then be made into a plaster model. The appliance will be constructed from that impression. It will be custom made for your mouth. New spacers will be placed back into your mouth until your next appointment which will be to cement the appliance into place. These appliances require little care as they do their “job” in the mouth. We do check them about every three months to make sure that there are no problems with the appliance.

TPA

TPA, Nance and Lingual Arch are retention appliances used to maintain spaces or hold molar expansion.

Lingual Arch

Nance

Tongue Crib

Tongue Crib is an active appliance to “cage” the tongue, preventing it from putting pressure on the front teeth.