What are metal ties?

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#1 Post by **Iccle_Peanut** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 12:57 pm

I can't get to grips with the search thingy!! So sorry if this has been asked! On my first adjustment i'm getting metal ties! What are they and do they not stain???

I've been sooo good but my ceramics don't look brand new anymore (even though they look the same in pictures and everyone tells me they look good)

what other ligs don't stain as much?

Ta people

#2 Post by **Lisa65** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:48 pm

Sometimes they use wire (metal) ties instead of ligs. So if you're getting those, they won't stain.

What colour ligs have you got now? The white ones and clear ones will always stain. Silver are good and probably won't look too noticeable with ceramics, or how about trying a light pink or blue?

#3 Post by **lionfish** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 3:22 pm

I've just had light purple ligs put on and have thrown a fair bit of food colouring at them over the weekend. So far, so good. They are also not that prominent.

#4 Post by **wiredkitty** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 5:13 pm

I've just had wire ties put on a couple of teeth - the stubborn ones that need the most work. The rest have standard ligs. So I presume that wire ties are a bit stronger in holding the bracket against the arch wire?

Re the staining: I have cermics on top six, and I had clear ligs initially and they went really yellow. Then I had smoke colour which looked good for about a day then they went green. Now I've had white ones put on which are quite flouresent. I stupidly ate some curry about half an hour later and they went flouro yellow -nice! We tested them in the dark last night to see if they'd glow. They didn't though which was disappointing!

I'm definitely going to get silver ligs next time!

#5 Post by **rmwolf83** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:07 pm

My ortho uses wire ties only on the teeth that need to be rotated or turned. They seem to make those teeth a lot more sensitive for the first couple of days because not only are those teeth moving, they're also twisting. I hate when the ortho assistant twists the wire ties tight, but as soon as it's over with I'm okay again! My ortho always puts ligs over the wire ties so that all of the brackets look to same.

#6 Post by **fins** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:19 am

Wire ties do not stain at all. If you get white, they will be beautiful with ceramics. If you get metal, they will be a bit more noticeable while on ceramics. I like the white myself...if you have metal brackets they will use the metal.

They can be very tight when adjusted but the ortho has great control over an individual tooth, for instance if you needed a tooth to be very loosely tied, it can be done. After a few adjustments I didn't really feel as much discomfort when they were retied during an archwire change. You will want to check before you leave the chair for any sharp points so the tech can push those in for you.

Good luck with your braces journey.

#7 Post by **wiredkitty** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:15 pm

The flouro-ness has toned down now after lots of cleans so now the originally white ligs are a cream colour which looks good with the ceramics as they are close to my teeth colour. If I step back from the mirror, all I see if the archwire. If they stay like this (and i don't eat any more yellow curry powder) I'll be happy.

#8 Post by **ghostmyimag3** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:21 pm

I got these yesterday so the colors you see have actually washed off. I have wire ligatures. Just to give you an idea:

And dont forget the wax buildup i have ha ha