Bracket positioning and resets: Five steps to align crowns and roots consistently

Orthodontists strive for accurate bracket positioning because it makes achi eving a superior occlusion easier. Whether one uses a direct or an indirect bonding technique, the initial appliance placement typically includes some bracket-positioning errors. The clinician either corrects these errors dur ing treatment or tediously repeats archwire bends to compensate for the mis placed brackets. The clinician should assess bracket positioning early in t reatment by clinical and radiographic evaluations and then correct all posi tioning errors during a single dedicated reset appointment. This article de scribes a 5-step protocol for assessing and correcting bracket-positioning errors.