Employing Tip-Edge brackets on canines to simplify straight-wire mechanics.

The straight-wire appliance was developed in part to reduce wire bending and therefore make treatment results more predictable. Because tip prescription is built into the bracket slots, teeth are held at their final crown angulations throughout treatment. Straight-wire brackets are used in an attempt to produce bodily tooth movement. However, teeth tend to tip when a force is applied. This tipping, especially when canines are retracted, can deflect the arch wire causing supereruption of the incisors with a resultant increase in anterior overbite and an open bite in the canine/premolar area. Placing Tip-Edge brackets (TP Orthodontics, Inc., LaPorte, Ind.) on canines and employing tipping and uprighting mechanics on these teeth can overcome these problems. Two cases are presented to illustrate this approach to treatment.