Metal Mouth Message Board

My braces were $1995, with an estimated treatment time of 10 months. It has already been 10 months, and no sign of getting them off yet. Not sure why, my teeth weren't even crooked, just looking to improve my bite. Anyway, the day I went for my consultation, I could have gotten braced. They wanted to start that day, but I wanted to think it over so I made an appointment for 2 days later. No need for spacers, brackets are glued to molars just like the rest of the teeth. I'm not sure why some ortho's use molar bands and some don't, but I'm glad I got to skip the whole spacer ordeal!

I have no restorations, at al,l in my mouth. I have fillings in the back two teeth upper and lower, right and left., so I was surprised not to be banded initially.

I can only speak from my experience, as others do, in that I was told I did not need bands on the molars with Damons, and I do with ceramic. The ceramic are significantly larger so this is why, I'm sure.

I simply wanted to provide my input. I kind of thought people here got the idea we all were just talking about our experiences and not fact. Otherwise I'd think 12 months in tx was normal, since 2 people disucssed that!

KK wrote: That aside ... I don't have bands, coz he also doesn't use them, unless it's absolutely necessary.

I don't have bands either. I have what KK has, which is a bracket that has a tube...

[quote="MeryatenI'm sure you're right - ceramics are indeed quite a bit larger. Point of fact, my ortho only seems (based on my limited experience, I will grant you ) to use them on the front 8 teeth. My molars are banded (due to crowns/onlays/fillings) but the second premolar on each side sports a smaller, metal bracket. My suspicion is that your ortho would have felt able to go bandless with any metal brackets - so it's not so much a Damon's vs everything else, as a ceramics vs metal issue.[/quote]

Yeah that what I have; my last 3 teeth in the back are metal and the rest is ceramic.

Thanks so much for all the info and input! You have all given me alot to think about! I have a better understanding of things to ask at my appt. I will guess that I will get ceramics on top and metal on botoom b/c I do have bit of an overbite. But hey, if it's cheaper and no one sees them then it doesn't matter anyway! And if someone does see them I'm not THAT concerned anyway! I'll be the one with the great smile in a few months! I am guessing I will need molar bands b/c I have those big, ugly silver fillings from when I was the little kid who didn't like to brush her teeth! YUCK! I guess we'll see!

One more question...I have noticed alot of people with the metals on bottom use pink ligs. Is this just for fun or does it help them to blend in with your lip?

Thanks again!!!

I think that the back 2 brackets in most mouths are tubes, not regular brackets. These are neither self-ligating nor traditional, they're tubes. Some are on bands and some are for bonding directly to the tooth.

I think it's more what the ortho chooses to use. My kid's ortho always uses bands on molars REGARDLESS of the tooth structure. Why would a bulkier bracket be easily bonded to smaller from teeth but not to back molars?

My ortho uses bands on teeth that the bonding material won't hold on to.

I think this is a matter of orthodontic preference. They do best with the materials they use.
These are buccal tubes without bands

these are buccal tubes with bands

Hi Nille,

Congratulations on making an appt. for an ortho evaluation. I do suggest you get at least 2 evaluations. I went to 4 evaluations. They all had different treatment plans and personalities. I chose the office that I was most comfortable with and the office staff and assistants are wonderful too.

You can make your decision when you're ready, whether it is that day, in a few months or even longer. My thought is if you know you want to proceed with ortho treatment and once you have found the orthodontist that you want, try to begin as soon as possible because why put it off. If the time happens to be around the holidays or special event, you may want to schedule the beginning of the ortho treatment until after the event but you can have all of the preliminary work done, x-rays, photos, etc. if needed. I waited about 3 months because I wanted to use my Flexible Spending Account which didn't begin until January and I also needed time to make the decision and it was a difficult decision for me but am so glad I decided to proceed with the orthodontic treatment.

Good luck and keep us posted.

ssfw

I had consults with 3 orthos. With the 1st ortho I didn't make a 2nd appointment. I was in such shock that he wanted to remove 8 teeth (I was expecting wisdom teeth, but not biscuspids). Also, he gave me a verbal estimate, but he didn't write it down.

By the time I saw the 2nd ortho I had gotten used to the fact that I might need 4 bicuspids out. With the 2nd ortho I made an appointment for the records and for getting the braces on. However, I canceled those because the 3rd ortho gave me a much lower estimate.

The 3rd ortho's assistant is waiting for my insurance paperwork to go through before she calls me to make an appointment for the records, x-rays, etc. That ortho said that I can keep all of my wisdom teeth, but he did mention removing bicuspids.

I don't have a treatment time as short as you, so I don't really have input on the cost.

I'm getting ceramics on top and metal on the bottom. Nille, as you said, it's because you don't really see the bottom much anyway and because of the cost. I figure that's $200 - $300 that I can save for something else.