Frequently Asked Questions About Bravo Brackets

• Why have the sales of Bravo Brackets been increasing so quickly?

As we have said above, sales of Bravo brackets have more than doubled in the last year. People like them. Orthodontists like them because the brackets are really easy to put on, and they work great. Patients like them because they are more comfortable than a conventional bracket and easier to keep clean. Both patients and doctors appreciate the reduced treatment time that comes with a Roth prescription. Most doctors who have tried Bravo brackets like them. Our sales have gone up accordingly

• Where are the Bravo's made?

All of the Bravo's are made in our plant in Bristol Pa.

• Why do you cast your brackets?

A cast bracket is inherently more comfortable than a machined or injection molded bracket. When you cast a bracket you force molten metal into a pattern. Unlike a machined bracket, there is never a sharp edge or burr to cut a patients lips or cheeks. The bracket slot is always clean and burr free. With a clean bracket slot, the archwire can slide more freely and with less friction.

Another advantage of a cast bracket is that unlike an injected molded bracket, there is never a weak spot in a tie wing to break in a patient's mouth.

Casting is a slightly more expensive manufacturing technique than machining or injection molding, but we believe that the additional patient comfort is worth the extra cost.

• Do you charge more since your brackets are cast?

No! The additional manufacturing cost was only about a dime a bracket; we decided to adsorb the additional manufacturing cost

• Why are your brackets so small?

In our testing we found that smaller brackets were more comfortable for patients. There were fewer reports of irritated lips or gums, and fewer problems keeping the brackets clean. We have made our brackets as small as we could, consistent with their working well, because the small size is what patients like the best.

• If your brackets are so small do they still work?

Of Course! Our mini-brackets work just like a full sized bracket. The torque and the tip are just the same as in a full sized bracket. We use a precision casting process so that the brackets provide the same forces as in a full sized bracket. We have carefully designed the base of the bracket to prevent popoffs under normal use.

• Why do you round the mesial and distal edges of the tie wings?

Again that is to make the bracket more comfortable for your patients. The curved edges have no abrupt ridges. Consequently, food is less likely to get caught under a tie wing. Gingival irritation is minimized, and oral hygiene improves. That makes the bracket more comfortable for your patients.

• Why do you raise the gingival tiewing on the bicuspids?

In our testing we found that with a conventional tiewing, food would get caught under a bicuspid and irritate a patients gums. When we raised the tiewing, food rarely got caught so irritation was minimized, and oral hygiene improves.

A second advantage was that the raised gingival tiewings made the brackets easier to ligate which saves chair time.

• Can I use an uprighting spring with a Bravo bracket?

Of course! The center slot on the Bravo's is specially designed so you can slide an uprighting spring directly under the archwire. One can use the uprighting spring to move the tooth, and since the uprighting spring connects directly to the archwire, there is no extra force torquing the tooth.

• You say that your sales have doubled in a year. Have you been able to keep up with the demand?

Yes, at least most of the time. When our sales started to jump, the people in our bracket production area worked overtime to try to meet the demand. We also hired some more people to keep up with the production, although that was a long process because we needed to hire the right people and train them well. There were a few times when we were not able to keep up with the demand so we built a waiting list and made sure that everyone got enough brackets to hold them over. The neat thing, though, is that customers have been willing to wait because the brackets are so good.

Bravo bracket's are worth waiting for. Try them yourself to be sure.

• What else have you done to speed up deliveries?

First we bought more equipment so that we could make more Bravos. We improved our process, to improve out yield. We also hired a contract manufacturer to help us mount the brackets on the bracket pads so that we can speed up our production (mounting brackets on pads is a slow step). All of these things were expensive and time consuming. However, our customers are worth it.

• When I look at the bravos under a microscope, they look unpolished. Is there a reason?

Well, the Bravo's have all been polished before they leave our plant. Still, there are two reasons that they look unpolished. First we put little rounded dimples into the bracket slot to minimize the friction. When the bracket is wet, the archwire slides along the little dimples; salivia can get under the wire and act like a lubricant. The result is better sliding mechanics.

A second issue is that we heat treat all of the Bravo's as part of our manufacturing process. During the heat treatment process, grains grow in the steel. This strengthens the steel so a tie wing never breaks. However, if you look under the microscope you can see the grains, so the Bravo's looks unpolished.

Actually, the Bravo's are not unpolished. They only look unpolished because of the grains in the tiewings and the dimples in the bracket slot.

• What is the advantage of putting the torque in the base of the bracket?

When the torque is in the base of the bracket, the force is more evenly distributed over the tooth. That gives the orthodontist more control of the tooth position. The treatment can be finished in less time and with less wire manipulation and less discomfort for the patient.

• Why do you use a trapezoidal shape?

The trapezoidal shape conforms better to the contours of your patients teeth than a conventional rhomboid. That makes it easier to align the bracket with the tooth and leads to fewer popoffs and faster treatment.

• Why Roth prescription?

Roth prescription is the most popular prescription in orthodontics today. Unlike some older prescriptions, teeth move without excessive friction, and with less wire manipulation. The result is a shorter less discomfort for the patient, and less work for the orthodontist

• How are the Bravo's color coded? How should they be mounted?

The Bravo's are color coded to facilitate proper placement. Generally, maxillary brackets have a red dot while mandibular brackets have a black dash. The bracket should be placed on the tooth with the dots or dashes on the gingival side facing in the distal direction. The hooks on the bicuspids and cuspids are also usually mounted on the gingival side with the hooks facing in the distal direction. However, the maxillary bicuspids can be switched so the hooks go in the mesial direction.

Each of the brackets is designed to mounted on the center of the tooth. The scribe line down the center of the bracket should usually be aligned with the long axis of the tooth to facilitate optimal tooth movement.

• Are there any issues with allergies?

Bravo brackets are made with a surgical grade stainless steel which is supposed to be hypoallergic; no one has told us about an allergic reaction to a Bravo bracket. Still, surgical grade stainless steel contains nickel and chromium. The literature indicates that some patients do get allergic reactions to nickel or chromium in dental devices. Consequently, we believe that it is better to be safe than sorry; We recommend that you NOT USE A BRAVO BRACKET IF YOUR PATIENT IS ALLERGIC TO NICKEL OR CHROMIUM. Use a composite bracket instead.

Young people with pierced ears have about a 30 times larger chance of being allergic to nickel or chromium, than a person without pierced ears. Consequently, we recommend that a patient with pierced ears be tested for metals allergies before they get braces.

• What are the symptoms of allergic reactions?

Generally allergic reactions produce inflamed gingivae, and soreness in a patients mouth. If a patient says that their mouth is sore all the time and the patients brush their teeth every day, there is reason to suspect that the patient is allergic to something in their appliances. This is specially true if the patient has pierced ears since metals allergies are 30 times more common in people with pierced ears than in the remainder of the population. Allergies to archwires and rubber bands are much more common than allergies to brackets. Still any patient complaining of soreness in their mouth between adjustments should be tested for metals allergies, and if the patient is allergic to stainless steel, the brackets, bands and buccal tubes should be replaced with a composite brackets and titanium bands and buccal tubes.

• How can I get further information?

If you are an orthodontist, call your Masel sales rep at the phone numbers listed on the bottom of this form. If you are a patient, parent or other professional click here for further information