Hey there! It’s Esther, and today I want to share something cool my dentist gave me—a model of my teeth! This model shows exactly where each tooth is in my mouth. My dentist used it to make mouth guards that fit perfectly. Now, let’s talk about something interesting: braces! My friend Drew has a question about them, so let’s dive in.
Braces are special tools that help move teeth to better spots in your mouth. Some of my friends have worn braces, and they look like tiny pieces attached to each tooth with a wire running through them. A dentist puts them on, and people wear them for months or even years. It takes time, but braces slowly move teeth to new positions.
We use our teeth for many things like biting, chewing, and even talking. Braces help by moving teeth so they work better. For example, they can help teeth line up properly when you chew or make it easier to keep them clean by preventing food from getting stuck between them.
Imagine you need to move a heavy box. You might push or pull it until it slowly moves. Braces work in a similar way. The wire in braces gently pushes and pulls on teeth all the time. Over time, this makes the teeth move to new spots.
Teeth are held in place by roots, which are surrounded by bone. Bones are hard and strong, which is why teeth seem stuck in place. But here’s the cool part: our bones can change! Just like how your bones grew from when you were a baby, they can change to help teeth move when you wear braces.
When braces push and pull on a tooth, the root presses against the bone. This pressure tells your body to change the bone, creating space for the tooth to move. Once the tooth moves, the bone changes again to hold the tooth in its new spot. So, braces work with your body to move teeth by changing the bones in your mouth!
Braces are an amazing invention that help move teeth by using the natural ability of our bodies to change bones. Isn’t that fascinating? Thanks to Drew for asking such a great question! Stay curious, and keep exploring the wonders around you!
We’re thinking about answering more fun questions like how microwaves work, who invented ice skates, or what food coloring is. You can vote on which question you’d like to explore next. Stay curious, and see you next time!
Tooth Model Craft: Create your own model of teeth using clay or playdough. Try to shape each tooth and place them in a row like they are in your mouth. Once your model is ready, use a string to represent the wire in braces. Wrap the string around the teeth and gently pull it to see how braces work to move teeth. Discuss with a friend or family member how this activity helps you understand the function of braces.
Observation Journal: Over the next week, observe someone you know who wears braces. Ask them how their teeth feel and if they notice any changes. Write down your observations in a journal. Think about how the braces might be working to move their teeth. Share your findings with your class or family.
Bone Change Experiment: Take a small sponge and a rubber band. Wrap the rubber band tightly around the sponge and leave it for a day. After a day, remove the rubber band and observe how the sponge has changed shape. Discuss how this is similar to how braces apply pressure to teeth and how bones change to allow teeth to move.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(phone ringing) – Hey, it’s Esther. I want to show you something my dentist gave me. Check it out. It’s a model of my teeth. It shows the exact spot of each tooth in my mouth. My dentist made the model so they could design mouth guards that would be a perfect fit for my teeth. Someone named Drew has a question about teeth. Let’s give Drew a call now. (phone ringing) – Hi Esther. – Hi Drew. – I have a question for you. How do braces work? – That’s a great question. You know, I’ve never had braces, but some of my friends wore braces like these. Do you see how there’s a piece attached to each tooth and a wire that goes through all the pieces? A dentist put the braces on, and then my friends wore them for months, sometimes years. A lot happens when people wear braces, but it can be hard to see the changes right away because it’s a slow process. Check out this video. It shows more than a year of wearing braces in just a few seconds. This way, we can see what happens really sped up. Ready? That’s so cool. Let’s see it again. Try watching these teeth all the way through and see what you notice. Here we go. Did you see that the teeth moved? Here they are at the start and at the end. They’re in new spots. Now, you might wonder why a dentist would move someone’s teeth. Well, think about the things we do with our teeth. We bite and chew, we brush and floss to keep them clean. We even use our teeth when we talk. Braces help some people do these things by moving teeth to new spots. For example, a dentist might move teeth so less food gets stuck between them or so teeth line up when a person chews. Okay, so braces move teeth. But when I watch that video, it isn’t clear to me how the braces do that. I’m curious. How do you think braces move teeth now? It would be a good time to pause the video and discuss. Okay. You ready? So, how do braces move teeth? Maybe you thought about how you move things. Let’s say you need to move a big box that’s in your way. It’s way too heavy to pick up. What can you do? Maybe you try pulling on it or pushing on it. You keep pushing and pushing, and slowly the box moves. It takes time and hard work, but inch by inch, you finally move it to a new spot. That’s what braces do too. Braces push and pull on teeth. Remember that wire we saw, the one that connects across each tooth? That wire is gently pushing and pulling on teeth all the time. And over time, the teeth slowly move with the wire. But looking at that skinny wire makes me curious. Maybe it makes you curious too. Is that skinny wire really strong enough to move teeth? Teeth seem pretty stuck in place, and that’s true. It would be hard to bite and chew if they weren’t. We can even see how teeth are held in place. Maybe you’ve seen a picture like this before. It’s an X-ray. It shows what’s inside your body. Solid parts like teeth and bones show up white on an X-ray. Here is one whole tooth. Looks a little different, huh? This is the part you usually see, and this part is actually inside your body. That part is called the root. It holds the tooth in place. Here’s another whole tooth and another, each with its own roots. Maybe you notice these white areas around the roots. That part of the X-ray shows bone. Can you see how each root has its own spot in the bone? Now wait. You probably know bones are hard, and these hard bones are really good at holding the roots in place. But if bone is holding the roots in place and the roots are holding the whole tooth in place, what’s going on with braces? Braces have to move the whole tooth. How can braces move the whole tooth if bone is in the way? It almost sounds impossible. I mean, try feeling the bones in your shoulder. You can feel how hard they are under your skin. And because they’re hard, your bones can support and protect your body. Two very important jobs. But another important thing your bones can do is change. Have you ever wondered how your baby bones became your kid bones? Your tiny baby bones had to change and grow to become bigger bones. In fact, your body is changing your bones right now to keep them healthy, and your body will keep changing them throughout your life. Changing bones is something your body does naturally. And it turns out if you wear braces, your body will change the bones in your mouth so teeth can move. Isn’t that wild? Here’s how it works. Braces keep pushing and pulling on the whole tooth. That causes the root to press on the bone that’s holding it. So, your body starts changing the bone. It makes a new space. Now, as the braces push and pull, the tooth and its root can slowly move over. Then your body changes the bone again to hold the tooth in its new spot. When dentists take the braces off, your teeth are in new spots, and the bones in your mouth are in new shapes. So in summary, braces push and pull on teeth to move them. But for teeth to move, our bodies have to change the bones in our mouth. That’s pretty cool. Braces are an invention that works by using something our bodies are already good at doing, changing our bones. That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks Drew for asking it. Now, for the next episode, we reached into our question jar and picked out three questions sent in to us that we’re thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from, how do microwaves work? Who invented ice skates? Or what is food coloring? So, submit your vote when the video’s over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you next week.
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