Ceramic brackets: self-ligating or clear ligatures?

[orchid]

I got my upper linguals just a week ago and in january I'll get lower ceramics. I can't post pictures yet, so I hope this works! My orthodontist offer two options for ceramic brackets:

Clarity SL (self-ligating, see picture here: http://www.better-smiles.de/German/Resources/beh31.gif )
Clarity Advance (clear ligatures, the least visible one, see picture here: http://www.fairoakorthodontics.co.uk/im ... ybrace.jpg )

I wanted the least visible ones at first. Then I started to read about how the little rubber bands stain. I eat blueberries on a daily basis, I eat a lot of green leafies and I also put turmeric in my food and smoothies whenever I can. Oops. My question for you is:

If you have experience with these least visible ones, do the ligatures stain a lot? How easy is it to stain them? Also, if you have any input regarding self-ligating vs. the others I appreciate that too.

:D

[chell]

I have the first kind (self-ligating). I believe I even have the exact brand.

If I were you I'd probably go with the self-ligating ones. I don't think they are that much more visible than the ones with clear ligatures. Also, you're only getting them on your bottom teeth that most people don't pay that much attention to anyway. Not having to deal with potential staining is a big plus in my opinion and well worth the (in my opinion very slightly) increased visibility.

PS: I'm also a big blueberry person and haven't experienced any staining with my self-ligating braces

[orchid]

[quote="chell"]I have the first kind (self-ligating). I believe I even have the exact brand.

If I were you I'd probably go with the self-ligating ones. I don't think they are that much more visible than the ones with clear ligatures. Also, you're only getting them on your bottom teeth that most people don't pay that much attention to anyway. Not having to deal with potential staining is a big plus in my opinion and well worth the (in my opinion very slightly) increased visibility.

PS: I'm also a big blueberry person and haven't experienced any staining with my self-ligating braces :-)[/quote]
Thank you for your reply! I must say, I'm leaning toward the self-ligating once. I've just been convinced to get the least visible ones for a couple of months now and I have to change my point of view. It's great that you haven't experienced staining. How do you find the brackets themselves? Did they irritate the inside of your mouth when you got them?

[chell]

I've found the brackets to be quite comfortable. There is an area where they irritate me so I keep wax on that (which takes care of it). I think that might just be because of the position of my teeth though. Other than that I sometimes forget they are there.

Like I said I don't think they are that much more visible than the other ones and I can't imagine what it'd be like to have to worry about staining all the time!

[sirwired]

If you have a choice, I'd definitely go with the SL's. There really isn't any downside. Yes, the brackets themselves have a metal archwire slot, but since the archwire itself is steel-colored (as in, you are going to see it either way), I don't really see that as a major drawback.

I think metal wire slots will be less noticeable than yellowed ligs.

[beckyboo0205]

How visible ARE your bottom teeth? Mine aren't really even that visible when I smile at all.

Also, keep in mind that you might have to get powerchains. I had powerchains for atleast 2/3 of my time in braces. Even if you have the self-ligating brackets so you might have to battle some staining no matter what.

[ST24085]

I've said this once, and I'll say it again: if you're going with traditional ceramic brackets, request SS wire ties. Clear ligatures stain immediately. The SS wire ties with ceramic brackets are great if you want subtle. It bothers me when people mention often someone at the ortho office makes excuses to not use them. You're paying them thousands of dollars for an hour every month and a half. They can damn well put them on your uppers if you request it.

Also I've just had power chain placed on both. They used "silver" on top. It also looks great and isn't very noticeable at all.

[Nozzelnut]

If given the choice, I'd go with self ligating. (It wasn't an option through the orthodontist I chose; which is ok)

The newness of braces and body image change has worn off and I don't really care if they're ceramic or metal at this point. It seems like a big deal when you're getting them on, but after you meet a lot of folks that don't say anything or don't care, it's less of an issue.

[Ciara]

I've said this once, and I'll say it again: if you're going with traditional ceramic brackets, request SS wire ties. Clear ligatures stain immediately. The SS wire ties with ceramic brackets are great if you want subtle. It bothers me when people mention often someone at the ortho office makes excuses to not use them. You're paying them thousands of dollars for an hour every month and a half. They can damn well put them on your uppers if you request it.

Also I've just had power chain placed on both. They used "silver" on top. It also looks great and isn't very noticeable at all.

That's what I have (metal ties). My ortho never puts clear ligatures on adult patients. I had no staining whatsoever for the first 18 months. However, once I got a power chain, then staining became obvious anyhow.

[Ciara]

I got my upper linguals just a week ago and in january I'll get lower ceramics. I can't post pictures yet, so I hope this works! My orthodontist offer two options for ceramic brackets:

Clarity SL (self-ligating, see picture here: http://www.better-smiles.de/German/Resources/beh31.gif )
Clarity Advance (clear ligatures, the least visible one, see picture here: http://www.fairoakorthodontics.co.uk/im ... ybrace.jpg )

I wanted the least visible ones at first. Then I started to read about how the little rubber bands stain. I eat blueberries on a daily basis, I eat a lot of green leafies and I also put turmeric in my food and smoothies whenever I can. Oops. My question for you is:

If you have experience with these least visible ones, do the ligatures stain a lot? How easy is it to stain them? Also, if you have any input regarding self-ligating vs. the others I appreciate that too.

Either get self-ligating or traditional braces with ceramic brackets and metal ties. Turmeric stains horribly! I have traditional brackets (ceramic) with metal ties and had no problems with staining until I got a power chain. My power chain stains quickly with anything with turmeric, curry, coffee, blueberries etc.