This is the place to post general questions and comments about all areas of orthodontic treatment. Before you post a question, use the forum's SEARCH tool to see if your question has already been answered!
New Members: YOU MUST MAKE A POST WITHIN 24 HOURS OF REGISTERING OR YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED. In other words, don't sign up unless you plan to actively participate in the message board immediately. This is necessary to keep out spammers and lurkers with bad intentions. Of course, you can read most forums on the board without registering.
DO NOT POST FULL-FACE PHOTOS or personal contact information on this website. We have had problems with people re-posting members' photos on fetish websites. Please only post photos of your teeth, not your whole face. Keep your email and your personal information private. Thank you.
As some of you know I had to have my metal braces removed yesterday due to a nickel allergy
I have selected a new, board certified ortho who offers a variety of options
1. Gold
2. Ceramic
3. Metal braces that contain NO nickel.
Now I am getting a braces redo, I get to make a whole new decision. Cost is not my primary concern. Of course #1 is no nickel #2 is general happiness.
Does anyone know, can I mix and match? Maybe clear on the front 4 (I am missing my upper K9's) and gold or metal on the rest?
Any help or feedback would be awesome... I want to make sure that my second go around is better
I've seen several people on the board who have ceramic brackets on the "social 6" teeth and metal on the rest. Those are usually the teeth that are most visible when you smile. Discuss this with your new orthodontist. I'm sure they can work something like this out for you, especially because of your situation with the metal allergy.
I would also question the metal content of your archwires, as those will change throughout your treatment. Not all metal is created equally. There are very definitive standards for metal used for different purposes. There is a huge difference between steel that is approved for surgery and steel that is approved to be left in your body. The standard for implant grade titanium (often times used for pins, screws, and plates for bones as well as artificial joints) is MUCH higher than the standards for surgical tools. Often times, the wires you get early on in treatment are a nickel-titanium blend...just something to be aware of.
If cost is not a deal breaker, you should discuss 3M's Incognito lingual system with your ortho (gold brackets placed on the inside surface of tooth). If cost comes into play, then why not just do ceramic? Ultimately, it's whatever you're comfortable with AND your ortho agrees with.
With regard to gold brackets on the front of the tooth, however, I do recall seeing a study that attempted to rate people's perception of the aesthetics of different systems by showing photos of people that simply edited that type of bracket/system shown, and the gold, labial brackets scored poorly.
My ortho is using a combination of Incognito and ceramic, which has worked well for me - though my concerns were primarily focused on aesthetics/discretion and not an alergy to nickel.
I have ceramic (clear) on top and metal on the bottom. My ortho suggested this for a couple different reasons. Clear are definitely less noticeable from afar and he said my bottoms were too crowded for ceramic anyway. The ceramic brackets are much bigger then traditional metal .
I was fitted with ceramics on my front upper 8 and lower 6 - the rest are metal. If you are concerned about aesthetics I would definitely recommend ceramics as even from a fairly short distance away they're hardly noticeable. I got Damon clears and so far have experienced no staining at all *touch wood!!* from tea, coffee or curry so I'm not concerned they're going to stain very easily (if at all). The only downside I would say is they are slightly bigger than metal brackets, so it may be quite uncomfortable and rub on your lips and/or cheeks initially, but this isn't a huge issue as long as you use wax, you do get used to it quickly and from what I gather metal can be just as irritating.
Good luck with the braces you do eventually decide on!
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Of course, I will talk to my new ortho but it's not until the 16th of next month and I am eager to get back SPAM SPAM SPAMMING....
Couple of questions:
I heard that ceramic takes longer to move the teeth and are more likely to slip?
I also heard they break easily?
Has anyone had gold braces?
I am not worried about aesthetics, of course, saying that, yea I would like invisible braces! I wouldn't mind doing the "social six" in the ceramics and then the rest in gold. I don't think I would like the ones on the inside, I have a tendency to rub my tongue and can imagine I would rub my tongue raw!
Mac123 wrote:Thanks for the feedback everyone. Of course, I will talk to my new ortho but it's not until the 16th of next month and I am eager to get back SPAM SPAM SPAMMING....
Couple of questions:
I heard that ceramic takes longer to move the teeth and are more likely to slip?
I also heard they break easily?
Has anyone had gold braces?
I am not worried about aesthetics, of course, saying that, yea I would like invisible braces! I wouldn't mind doing the "social six" in the ceramics and then the rest in gold. I don't think I would like the ones on the inside, I have a tendency to rub my tongue and can imagine I would rub my tongue raw!
I've only heard of ceramic brackets breaking when they are removed. I don't have them, so I don't have any first hand experience with them. I don't think there's much of a difference in how long it takes a ceramic bracket to move teeth compared to a metal bracket. I think it really depends on the skill of the orthodontist.
I had the opportunity to get gold brackets and I didn't like how they looked on the display model. My teeth are a bit stained, so I didn't want something that could potentially make my teeth look more yellowed.
Mac123 wrote:Thanks for the feedback everyone. Of course, I will talk to my new ortho but it's not until the 16th of next month and I am eager to get back SPAM SPAM SPAMMING....
Couple of questions:
I heard that ceramic takes longer to move the teeth and are more likely to slip?
I also heard they break easily?
Has anyone had gold braces?
I am not worried about aesthetics, of course, saying that, yea I would like invisible braces! I wouldn't mind doing the "social six" in the ceramics and then the rest in gold. I don't think I would like the ones on the inside, I have a tendency to rub my tongue and can imagine I would rub my tongue raw!
I don't think ceramics have any effect on the length of time they take, that is all down to your teeth (and your ortho!). In terms of slipping I've not heard of that before but they seem pretty sturdy to me *touch wood* !
I can see why they could be easier to break but honestly I think thats rare, they are designed to withstand the forces of chewing etc and as EWUgal mentioned I've only heard of them breaking during removal so I think you'd be fine!
I have ceramic braces on both top and bottom teeth. My ortho assured me that it would not add any time to my braces sentence and so far I am 4 months in and have had a great deal of progress! Also they are bigger than metal braces but not at all combersom - I got used to them fairly quickly and now sometimes forget they are there! I still feel like they are somewhat noticeable and would have had the lingual braces if I had the chance to, but all in all I am happy with my choice
Oh yes, staining hasn't been much of an issue and I don't stay away from anything - curry included, and I have ligs so maybe the ligs are just more resistant to staining than they were even just a year ago - who knows good luck with your choice
Regarding your concern about ceramics breaking - Are they as durable as metal? Certainly not. But they're pretty durable. I had one tie wing break off of a ceramic bracket (during routine dental checkup...too aggressive with the polishing?), but the one extra trip to the ortho to have it replaced was well worth it to get the benefit of far better aesthetics for the duration of treatment. Aesthetics don't sound like a huge priority for you, but it was a big, big deal for me. Tip of the hat to folks who have no issue with going full metal! Accepting an extra unscheduled visit or two for ceramics was a no-brainer for me.
According to my ortho, ceramics only add time (potentially) at the end when they may not be able to bend the finishing wire as aggressively at each appt as they'd like. The final tweaking process may take longer, but the beginning stages are the same.
If I were you I'd get clear social 6 (or then gold for the rest. I don't really like my silver bottom braces and gold would be *awesome*, I think. But it depends on your skin tone, some people would look better with silver than gold. Super superficial, I know! Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong with any choice!
•Braces placed August 14, 2014
•Deband November 11, 2015
•Permanent retainer top and bottom
•Essix retainers top and bottom 16 hr/day for a year and then nightly afterwards.
My orthodontist told me they can move the teeth the same with the clear braces as they do with the metal ones. They have advanced with the newer clear braces.
Staining...possibly. But only the ligs stain and they change at every appointment anyway. I have not had any terrible staining issues and I am a coffee drinker. Plus, you can always go in between appointments for a refresh on the ligs if they do stain.
They are bigger than the metal ones but I never had the smaller ones so I have nothing to compare them to. I just got use to these and never regretted my decision.
Lots of luck!
Braces installed October 2, 2014
Braces removed May 17, 2016
then gold for the rest. I don't really like my silver bottom braces and gold would be *awesome*, I think. But it depends on your skin tone, some people would look better with silver than gold. Super superficial, I know! Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong with any choice!
