about to be braced but with what?

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#1 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 4:50 pm

Ok well I went to my ortho tonight he told me $3,350 for top metal and bottom spring retainer.I love the way Ceramics look and he told be $500 more and he told it its not worth it and the money should go to getting bototm braces if im going to spend that much but im basically addicted and have to have them I have $170 of the $500 what could I do my birthday isnt until march im only 13 years old and my dad said mowing the lawn this summer isnt worth $500 my ortho said he said Jaunary 24th im going to to get braces im kind of happy but sad if I don't get ceramics what should I do?Im really worried about how I will look with braces and how it will effect my social life.He said though the braces would only be on 14 to 15 months my dad doesnt want to hear the word ceramic any have them any ideas?

#2 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 6:53 pm

i was told im getting spacers in about 2 weeks whats the point?

#3 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 7:31 pm

yeah I guess it isnt that bad alo of my friends have them I wont die i will let you guys know what happens when ige t them on in a few weeks.

#4 Post by **Avarik** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 8:02 pm

Don't even consider the ceramics! Your at a good age now, when a lot of people have braces. Having braces that are metal is really normal, so it won't affect your social life at all. From what I see, 13-14 is a really common time for people to get their braces on. I reccomend that you, instead, become grateful that your dad will pay for the metal braces. Be thankful that you can get it done at 13, when its normal, instead of waiting. Most of the people here are adults, when its uncommon to have braces, and very noticable. I myself just got mine on, when most of my friends got theirs off a year ago. Be glad you can do it now, instead of later.

Oh, and make sure to wear that retainer afterwords so your teeth don't shift back!

#5 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 8:18 pm

thanks yeah my sister had metal top and bottoms maybe 5 years ago and now she is getting gaps agian so she picked up a new retainer i will be pretty good with that stuff i marked my calender for january 24th for the spaces and then a few days later braces i hope they dont hurt and effect my voice too much.

#6 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:01 pm

anyone know what a lower spring retainer looks like or used one? I am getting metal braces on my top but some kids I saw had metal braces and it didnt look like they had a main wire going across they just had brackets with ligatures.Was I not looking close enough and the ligatures cover the main wire going across? and can braces work without a wire going across?

#7 Post by **bbsadmin** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:18 pm

Personally, I think you should go for the metal braces. I had ceramic braces because they would be less visible and later I regretted it, because the elastic ligatures were always staining and making the braces look yellow. With metal you can have darker ligatures and they will not stain. It is also easier to get the metal braces off the teeth when treatment is over (in general, that is). At your age, I don't think it's worth the extra money. When my kids get braces, it will be metal for them!

Here are a couple of links that explain what a spring retainer is:

http://members.aol.com/trushad/orthodon ... iances.htm

and some text which explains them further, although it is written for dentists:

Spring Retainers

Spring retainers combine the principles of Hawley-type retainers with those of the tooth positioners. A working model is required on which the teeth are aligned. The traditional spring retainer was a sectional appliance using .028â€

#8 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:13 pm

thanks i hope my retainer is small the teeth on the bottom that are spaced and crooked are the very front ones and not the molars.hopefully there will be a cancellation at the office and i can sneek in and get my braces this month or else i have to wait until february.He is a very busy man and always booked for weeks at a time it might be a good thing and my sister worked with him before.im pretty excited and cant wait.
how come here there isnt a archwire

and do ligatures have to be so visible with metal braces like crazy bright colors?

#9 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:01 am

so its up to the ortho to pick between a power chain or ligatures?

#10 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:14 am

and one last qustion is it me or is there no ligs here sorry to be a pain in the neck

i have a gap in my two front teeth so that means i might get a power chain...they arent that much more noticeable

#11 Post by **Anticipator** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:14 am

ShortyRocK wrote:and one last qustion is it me or is there no ligs here sorry to be a pain in the neck

i have a gap in my two front teeth so that means i might get a power chain...they arent that much more noticeable

There are ligs there, they're just a very light color and blend in with the bracket/teeth.

#12 Post by **Anticipator** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 10:46 am

Meryaten wrote:Shoot! Good call, Anticipator - I had to get the screen really close to my eyes (like 2 inches!) to spot them - bad screen on this laptop, honest!

Anyway, it's still true that you can get self-ligating brackets.

My brother donated his old computer monitor to me just a few weeks ago when he upgraded his system. My previous one was soooo dark that I could only see really high contrast items -- if I was lucky text on background.

It's nice to be able to see the details again.

BTW, I think that my ligs (silver) blend in nearly that well, except for where they're twisted into figure eights. Perhaps they blend in too well. May have to experiment with the color wheel a bit next appointment.

#13 Post by **ShortyRocK** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:20 pm

yeah im going to ask for grey or silver so they dont look too bright and color ful