Since its emergence in 1935, self-ligating brackets have been widely used in contemporary orthodontic treatment, which can be divided into active and passive self-ligating brackets. Comparing to the conventional brackets, the self-ligating brackets have the advantages of lighter force, lower friction with archwires, more convenient for clinical operation and shorter treatment time. However, the disadvantages of self-ligating brackets are poor control of teeth, such as tilting movement of teeth, and inadequate expression of torque of anterior teeth, etc. In this article, the merits and faults as well as clinical effects of self-ligating brackets in every stage of orthodontic treatment are assessed.
