Recently, I have received a lot of questions from friends with braces: What about scraping the mouth with steel braces? What’s the matter with falling brackets? Wearing invisible braces, what’s the use of the little bumps that stick to the teeth? …
Today we will talk about this “small bump” in Invisalign correction.

Many students who wear invisible braces will find that the doctor has glued a lot of “small bumps” on their teeth. It is not easy to find if you don’t look carefully. This “small bump” is the accessory.
What is an attachment?
Attachment is one of the most important auxiliary devices for Invisalign, which plays an important role in invisible orthodontics.
The attachments are glued to the teeth, and one tooth corresponds to one attachment. The material of the accessories is generally light-cured resin used for oral treatment, which is the same as the filling and restoration material used for dental fillings, with beautiful color and luster, good performance, and high compressive strength.
What are attachments useful for?
Don’t underestimate these attachments, they are an important role in invisible correction. A small body contains a lot of energy.

Enhanced fixed position. Although invisible braces can be worn directly on the teeth and fit the teeth, the use of accessories can better fix the braces on the teeth and make the braces fit better between the teeth. Because the teeth and braces themselves are relatively smooth, friction between the teeth may cause the braces to move, and the braces can be more stable by bonding the attachments.
Increases force on teeth. After wearing invisible braces, the teeth are wrapped in the braces and the attachments are bonded, which can better control the direction of the movement of the teeth, and the braces can control the movement of the teeth more precisely. There are many types of attachments, and different attachment types have different functions. For example, elliptical attachments are used to assist appliance retention; rectangular attachments can control molar movement; fixed attachments are used to assist in the depression of canines, premolars, and molars; jaw pad attachments are used to assist in opening the bite of molars; For the movement control of canines and premolars, etc.
What should I do if the attachment is lost?
When chewing on hard objects, or when removing the braces with improper force, the attachment may fall off. If the attachment falls off, the corresponding teeth will be out of control. If the space is large, it may rebound and affect the straightening process.
Once the attachment falls off, don’t worry, contact the attending doctor in time, make an appointment for a follow-up visit, and re-bond it. However, before bonding, the braces can be worn normally.

In order to prevent the attachment from falling off frequently and affecting the orthodontic effect, you should pay attention to the following matters while wearing braces:
- Usually eat, reduce the amount of food with shell, too hard, too brittle, so as not to knock on the accessories;
- Do not use brute force to remove braces every day, and strictly abide by the doctor’s orders;
- Usually try to eat and drink less food and drinks that are easy to deposit pigments, so as to avoid the deposition of food residues and pigments in accessories;
- Maintain oral hygiene. Although invisible braces are easy to clean, oral hygiene cannot be ignored, including attachments that are bonded to the teeth.