Anybody with ceramics that wishes they got metal?

[celiviel]

I have ceramic uppers and metal lowers. I'm glad I went with the ceramics ($200 extra) at first because getting the braces was enough of a shock and having the ceramics helped ease that a bit. Now that they've been on for a while, I don't think I would mind having all metal.

And I wouldn't worry about lig staining, really. I have a lot of heavy stainers in my diet (Indian curry, mustard, coffee, tea, ketchup, you name it) and the only time I ever really notice staining is when the ortho has taken the old ligs off and I see them laying on the tray.

The clear ones that I started with looked a little dingy after four weeks, but you really had to be looking closely under bright lights to notice. Some colors resist staining better than the clear ones and are still barely noticeable. I switched ligs from my original clear ones to pink and now to blue, and unless I actually tell someone "hey, I have new colors!" nobody even notices.

[swan]

One thing about both ceramics and am this way about the invisible braces too is that I notice them. It is almost like braces but not so I look at them even harder like "what is it on that persons teeth!" (sorry for those in ceramics, I think maybe I'm just a freak that way). When I see metal braces, I just think "oh, braces". When I see other things, I try to figure out what it is and I become fixated.

I have a similar experience to Teigyr. I have had my metal braces for over a year and just yesterday a woman who I sing in the choir with every month said she hadn't noticed them (we were only talking about them because I was standing in the restroom, brushing my teeth).

And just like Teigyr, I may look closer at people who have ceramics, because I have to figure out what that is in their mouth.

So metal may be a little more noticable, but won't draw more attention than ceramics.

[jennielee81]

I have self ligating "ceramics" on my front 6 they're Opals made by Ultradent http://www.opalorthodontics.com/flash/w ... ntent.html

They have the same time frame between adjustments as self-ligating metal brackets so I still get to stay out of the ortho's office for 10 weeks at a time.

I just plain like the look of ceramic brackets...especially with colored ligs. I don't get ligs with these but I'm happy with them anyway.

I also think traditional brackets are cute, but I didn't have that option so I got Damons which are more "technical looking" which I don't find cute so I got the Opals on top which are kind of kool.

I'm not sorry!! I'm also not trying to "hide" my braces (any more at least) but I've always liked the look of ceramics.

[JumpTheDitch]

Hey Nille, welcome to Archwired

I have full metal and wouldn't have it any other way.

As everyone says, orthodontia is a very personal thing. Metal works best for some, others prefer the discretion ceramics/sapphires offer them. Then there's lingual and invisalign. Or gold brackets. I've even seen star-and flower-shaped metal brackets (though only online, never actually on a person!) It's great to have the choice to tailor to your needs/preferences. For me, I've never really been keen on the look of non-metal brackets. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess! I actually like the look of metals, though I got the shock of my life the first few times I looked in the mirror! It's a whole lot of metal and I wasn't quite prepared for the tin grin that peeped back at me!

My ortho initally assumed that being an adult I'd want ceramics, and while I thought I didn't care what other people thought, to be honest I was a bit nervous at first going work with the whole metal mouth look. Now I'm comfortable with them, I quite like them and am happy to have them part of me for a while. Not too long, maybe, but for a while! The boys don't seem to mind them either!

Like others have said, most people notice them for a whole ten seconds before moving onto the important stuff, like who's currently going out with whom!

Good luck, whichever you decide!