Every tooth movement needs something to push against. Usually that something is other teeth, which is fine until the teeth you are pushing against start to move too. For a long time the workaround was headgear — anchoring the movement to the head and neck from outside the mouth. A temporary anchorage device does the same job from inside: a titanium anchor the size of a small screw, placed in the jawbone for a few months, that gives your orthodontist a fixed point to work from.
We use them in some cases, not most. When we do, it is because they let a particular movement happen more precisely, more comfortably, or without headgear.
What it changes
With a fixed anchor, the teeth that need to move can be moved on their own, and the teeth that should stay exactly where they are, do. Closing a gap from one side only, pulling a tooth down that has not come through far enough, moving back teeth without dragging the front ones along — these are the kinds of problems a TAD makes straightforward, and they are the reason a TAD is sometimes in a plan alongside braces or aligners.
Placing one
If a TAD is part of your plan we go through why before anything is booked. Placement happens in the chair: the gum and bone at the site are numbed with local anaesthetic — you are awake, only that area is numb — and the anchor is placed through the gum into the bone. It takes a few minutes. Most people describe pressure rather than pain, some tenderness that day, and then forgetting it is there. It is cleaned with your ordinary brushing.
Taking it out
When it has done its work, or your plan no longer needs it, removal is quicker than placement and needs no more than the same local numbing. The site heals over within days.
If a TAD has been suggested for you and you have questions, request a call back or call (212) 966-9628.