In orthodontic terms, this is a thin metal ring that is cemented onto the teeth so that orthodontic wires or appliances such as a transpalatal arch, lower lingual arch or a headgear can be attached.
Before bands were prefabricated in different sizes for each tooth, they were actually soldered together from thin sheet metal that was supplied on rolls – this is where the obsolete term band derives from. In historical times, banding teeth was the only way to work with fixed braces.
However, placing dental bands is very time-consuming, is often painful and the bands are extremely unaesthetic in the visible area. Moreover, bands are hygienically a problem, since the gap between the band and the tooth is never completely filled with cement so that cavities are formed which cannot be cleaned properly. For these reasons, bands have been largely displaced by bonded brackets.
