Removable Appliances

Removable appliances are made of acrylic (plastic) and a stainless steel wire. They are not bonded onto the teeth like fixed appliances but can be removed by the patient. These were the most common braces in the UK from the beginning of the NHS up to the early nineteen eighties. Fixed braces are by far the most popular brace now but removable appliances are still useful for certain tooth movements, for example upper arch expansion and for reducing large protrusions in young patients. In these cases the removable appliances are called functional appliances.

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