What is the difference between self-locking braces and ordinary rigid braces? What's the difference except having a small lock?

The main difference between self-ligating brackets and ordinary brackets is that the traditional orthodontic brackets need to be fixed with thin steel wires or rubber bands, while the self-ligating brackets have a locking device more than the traditional brackets. Generally speaking, it is like adding a door to the brackets, which can directly lock the orthodontic wires in the grooves of the brackets, eliminating the bondage of ligating wires or rubber bands to the orthodontic wires. Self-locking bracket is a new technology in recent years. Seemingly small changes have brought revolutionary changes to fixed orthodontic technology. Its main advantage is that it can greatly reduce the friction resistance between the steel wire and the bracket. Because the orthodontic treatment of moving teeth needs to overcome the friction resistance between steel wire and bracket, the greater the friction, the greater the corrective force, the slower the moving speed and the longer the corrective time.