What are my favorite pliers to bend wires with in the ortho lab. There are 3 main categories of pliers that i use: Bird Beaks 3 Prongs Loop Formers Young-Koster Loop Pliers: https://www.jbcandcompany.com/shopexd.asp?id=1502 Serrated Bird Beak Pliers: https://www.jbcandcompany.com/shopexd.asp?id=1766 https://www.greatlakesdentaltech.com/serrated-laboratory-plier-134l-superior-220-016.html Great…
Wire Bending
62 posts
Today we find out how long it takes me to bend a labial bow! This is always a good challenge to do once a year to make sure how fast you are. This will truly show your value no matter…
Today we make a Quad-Helix on a 3D Printed model. Using a PUK5 Pulse Arc Welder. Looking to getting into this Career? Sign up for extra content to advance your Orthodontic Career of on my Patreon channel https://www.patreon.com/retainerdesigner Really, Really…
yes you heard that right I got a requests from a doctor to make a retainer with a labial bow 2-2 with NO adjustment loops. Why? well, we will get into what I think the doctor was thinking. I think…
Bad weather might be coming! I know, I KNow, those of you up north are used to weather like this. But we are here in Texas and we are not as prepared. :) So during tdays live stream I am…
When a doctor's office prints their own models how do you communicate with them on what to look for in a model used for an orthodontic retainer? I will give some tips and tricks that I use along with what…
Today I keep it simple by bending and soldering a simple Lower Lingual arch (Some call it a Lower Lingual Holding arch). Theses are a basic appliances made for Orthodontist and Pediatric Dentists all the time. These appliances are used…
Taking it easy today. Have a lit of retainers to get out today, so Im just bending wires. So I though I would just bend wires and talk to you guys in the process! Things I order for my lab…
This is how I bend my Wraparound Hawley's, this is a special case with labial acrylic on the labial bow, with no keeper (Labial support wires) Join me as we bend this and join in on the discussion! Things I…
Today I have a couple of Phase I hawleys to bend. I will show how I bend mine and a couple of alternatives. Things I order for my lab from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/retainerdesigner
Nothing scheduled special for todays live stream, I am super busy getting ready to live stream the upcoming Conference next week so I thought I would bend wires and talk to you guys! A Free for all so to speak!…
Join me as we discuss Adams clasps. In this follow-up video to one of my most viewed videos " Adams Clasps: How to bend" We will discuss the 2 versions, Hand-bent and performed. There have been a lot of discussions…
What happens when a doctor sends in a retainer to the lab to be repaired? We look over the problems and the different types of repair possibilities. Join me live and ask questions and make suggestions! Things I order for…
Hello! After over 1 and a half years gone, I'm back with a live stream! Today we will attempt to make a retainer with C Clasps welded to the labial bow. We will be using the PUK 5 by Lampert…
Today I work on a Fixed Space Maintainer Called a Nance Button. This  appliance is used to hold the upper molars back from drifting forward, while the bicuspid  and cuspids erupt into position  maintaining the upper arch length. There are many other uses for this  appliance too! Things I order for […]
On today's wire Wednesday (Live Streamed on a Thursday :) I bend a Lower / Mandibular Wraparound / circumferential Hawley retainer. I don't usually like bending these, I struggle a little with it but I will push through and show you how I bend mine. My List of great stuff […]
Today on the live stream, I am super swamped with Memorial day coming up so today's wire Wednesday will be just me bending wires and answering your questions. I will be concentrating on Wire bending high production , something im not great at but everyone needs to be able to […]
Today I will be answering questions about basic wire bending. I have on  my site DesignerRetainer.com starter wire bending exercises. They are  sheets you can download and practice your basic wirebending skills. You can download these sheets here: http://bit.ly/orthowire101 Today we will be doing the Beginner sheet this will be […]
In #3 we will cover a modified spring aligner with a unique feature of vertical cuts! Join us as I bend one of these and explain the evolution of this appliance. We are starting earlier this time 10:45 am   Special Guest: Szara Dental Lab
In today's live stream I have a Guest! Steve Szara of Szara Dental Lab You tube channel. Today I bend 2 Hawley retainers. But these have a slight difference. This doctor likes the loops going over distal to the 4's (1st Bi Cuspids) and Labial acrylic. This is for both […]
Join me as I live stream with my first ever Wire Wednesday! This will be just me doing some wire bending and answering your questions along the way. Looks like 12pm CST was the popular time with everyone! Be sure and subscribe to my YouTube Channel to get updates when […]
This video is the Patreon/ Paid Subscriber version, It is the extended version it includes not only the custom band how to, but includes:the wire bending of the lingual archSolderingTrimming of the applianceHello all,For those that saw my attempt a live stream while commenting (Voice over) my raw footage of […]
Here are 10 tips I have discovered over that past couple of years working at this new lab that have really increase my wire-bending speed. These are a few of those tips that I think are easy to implement in your daily routine.Big Thanks to special guest Steve Szara of […]
Excel Version: Time Tracker WirebendingPDF Version: Time Tracker Wirebending - Sheet1-2Web link: Time TrackerTime Tracker Sheet:
I finally made this video to answer all your questions about "What is that purple stuff you put on your model?"All credit goes to the Owner of Ortho Works Lab, Inc. for showing me the versatility of using this material to tack our wires to the models.We mainly use Zapit […]
This is a followup video to the video on how to bend a Wraparound soldered to C's. I thought I would shoot a quick video on how to solder it after you bend it. Let me know if you have any questions...Thank You for your support! Â Interested in learning […]
This video covers the steps of the wire bending of a Soldered Wraparound Retainer to C Clasps.Step 1: Bend C ClaspsStep 2: Bend Labial BowStep 3: Bend Keeper Wires (Check out how to bend alternative keeper wires here: https://youtu.be/zTfb01qU-Mc )Step 4: Solder the Appliance (Not shot in the video, sorry […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $1 or more Unlock with […]
Serrated Laboratory Plier (134L) Superior Three Prong Laboratory Plier (344) Superior Three Prong Laboratory Plier (344) Economy Serrated Wire Bending Laboratory Plier (134) Superior Hawley Loop Forming Laboratory Plier Superior Jarabak Laboratory Plier Superior DX134: SERRATED BIRD BEAK PLIERS DX3144: YOUNG PLIERS DX344T: STANDARD 3 PRONG - FINE TIPS Three […]
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This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
Here is an example of you guys learning along with me… Jason, the owner of the lab I am now working at took the time to explain one of our wire benders how he bends a 3×3 spring clip (usually in 4 min!). I whipped out my phone and tried […]
I thought this was a great question that I got in my inbox today. Since I havent really covered this question to much detail in my videos I thought Id share my answer here and other people can join the discusson fi they have any more questions. Here is the […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
This video covers an overview of the wire-bending component of the construction of a wraparound retainer. This video does not cover the acrylic component of the wraparound construction, but that is pretty basic like a regular retainer. (acrylic videos are listed below the Wraparound Video) Keeper wires or stabilization wires […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
I got this question on the discussion section of my YouTube channel. About the Adams clasp.., I get the adaptation of the wire across the marginal ridge, and into the palate,., but the angulation of the bridge of my adams is almost always more the 45 degrees , and its […]
I was asked through my you tube channel how I bend the ball clasps across the occlusion I thought I would share our discussion in case any out there would be interested: Hello there, I’m having a challenge getting my occlusal wire bends out of the way of the bite. […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
I have been asked how to tighten the retainers after you are done making them. This is a very important Quality Control (QC) step! Be sure and check with your doctor how tight he/she wants the retainer on the model. I shot this video real quick using my new, […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
This post is for Patrons only. We would love to have you as a supporter of us over on Patreon.com/retainerdesigner you can have access to the whole site for $10 a month!To view this content, you must be a member of Retainer Designer's Patreon at $10 or more Unlock with […]
In case you guys behind the bench haven’t heard, twitter has a new app, called Vine. (for those of you that don’t know what twitter is, then…you need to get out from behind the bench more;) What Vine is, is a way to take and share 6-second videos, sounds weird, […]
I thought this was an interesting appliance. I talked to the doctor about this case and she originally wanted a wrap, but asked me to caller her about the case. The UR7 (Upper Right Second Molar) wasn’t in all the way and didn’t get all the way in the impression. […]
Here is a video I made of a pedo partial from some pictures and videos I took. This is kind of a lengthy process, and I don’t have enough room on my iPhone to take video the whole time and then just edit it down. So, instead I set my […]
I got an interesting request from a Dentist, she wanted a Pendulum with removable activation arms. On top of that, she wanted 4 of them! We discussed the case a bit over the phone and she said she will send along some information with the case. When I got the […]
How to bend sweeper springs and wax them into place on a retainer These are used to help close diastemas (gaps between the teeth). Also I try my best to explain how they work.
Here is a very basic overview of how to bend Ball Clasps. I go over the difference between premium and economy clasps and why I like the Premium better. The video just shows an overview I do not get into the details and differences of the different types of bends, […]
Well, here is the first of hopefully many special post for the members only area. I am going to put this first for the free subscribers, and once I figure out what the special content the paid members will receive, this will remain free. This is the uncut recording of […]
Here is a quick video showing how I bend the ‘C’ Clasps. Nothing special, these are pretty basic to do. I use .036 Wire for my ‘C’ Clasp and a large serrated beak lab plier. I have more videos of me bending the other side I will put that in […]
For those of you that attended the Wire Bending 101 class at the DLAT spring conference in Las Colinas, Tx, this model might look familiar to you. It was included in the kit you recieved with a pre-bent wire already on it. It was the final goal of the whole […]
Here is the second part of the beginner worksheet. It will problably take 2 more videos to complete it. Looks like it will take about 4 videos per worksheet, maybe more on some of the more advanced worksheets. Attention more advanced technitions, not to worry I will be interjecting other […]
I know, I know, this is not part 2 of the beginner wire bending series! Sorry, I need a quiet, not detracting room to record those so that I can explain what I am doing at the same time that I am bending. That way I don’t have to over […]
Finally! Here is the first video! Kind of…. I know I promised these videos back in April at the conference, but I had to replace my hard drive on my iMac,( it was making funny noises 😉 I didn’t want to get into some intensive HD usage editing videos until […]
I have a doctor that this is his standard MD retainer. His preferences are: Labial bow from distal of the first bicuspid to distal of first bicuspid on both MX/MD retainers. Labial acrylic 3-3 on both MX/MD retainers. Finger clasps mesial to the 6’s on the MX retainer. Acrylic trimmed […]
Here is the next podcast covering the habit appliance. I usually split my habit appliances into thumb-sucking and tongue-thrusting. But in this is kind of a combo appliance the “arches” in the palette are designed to break the thumb sucking habit by preventing the vacuum that is caused by the thumb […]
Here is the third and final part the the Spring Retainer series. I never realized how much footage I took during the whole process. I had to edit out some of the more repetative steps just for times sake. Next time I think I will split up the acrylic videos […]
I was asked on DentalLabNetwork.com about my Hydroflux welder that I had prevuiously mentioned on another thread. If you havent been to www.DentaLabNetwork.com yet you should, it is full of very helpful lab techs that help eath other out with anything reguarding Dental lab. Sorry it has been awhile since […]
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