Metal Mouth Message Board

I have ceramic on top but sometime in the next month or two will be getting metal on the bottom (ortho's choice to do it this way). The ceramic brackets do not stain at all and are a very natural tooth-looking color. I get comments from people all the time that braces are so much better than they used to be and that they might get them, too, since the ceramic ones are so much less noticeable. If I stay away from mustard, my clear ligatures do OK. Mustard stains them instantly but even that really isn't a big deal. The rubber bands are really teeny, tiny and are changed every 5 weeks (or so). So it's not like you're walking around with obvious stains that anyone else notices (but you, of course).

Having braces has confirmed for me something I've suspected for a long time - people don't really notice all the small details of what you look like - they just get a general impression of you (unless something about you REALLY stands out as different) - they are mostly worried about what THEY look like!

I apologize for the duplicate post. I got a "debug" messge the first time, so I didn't think the message went through.

this debate again...

all I will say is the 'speed braces' your ortho is referring to are most likely what they call "self ligating braces". these do not require elastics [ligatures to attach the bracket to the archwire] they move freely on their own, which in some research show a faster movement time because of allowing teeth to move freely and with less pressure.

I have Damon 3's, as I had the ceramics vs self ligating metal debate as well with my ortho- I wanted ceramics, but she told me this exactly:
"why would you? these are faster and more comfortable"

now, if this is true or not, I couldn't say- I've only had self ligating braces, so I cannot tell you how my teeth would have responded to other types, but I COULD tell you I have been happy with my decision and that you should research what you want and decide that way instead of resorting to others opinions. Sure, of course all of our opinions are valid and helpful, but ultimately its up to you and what your orthodontist is familiar with and prefers to use.

I would suggest looking at some respected resource sites and comparing your options first

Whoa! You guys really pounced!

I probably should've explained myself better.

I've had my braces off for over a year now, but I visited this site frequently during my 'braced' tenure, although I never posted on the forum. I am now as I had a question about my retainer and in light of my experience before/during and after braces I thought I may be of additional help.

As I said on another thread, my 'issues' were more cosmetic; I didn't have any significant problems other than, perhaps, a slight overbite.

I did start off with ceramic braces and I meant, yes, the elastics stain, not the fixtures themselves. I always wanted clear ones on, because if you're getting ceramic to begin with, why would you have purple elastics? Not that you can't, but . . .

Anyway, my ORTHO said HE had better results from metal and I guess I trusted his opinion after my progress in ceramic was slow. That's just MY subjective and HIS objective opinion.

I'm glad I did and there's also no evidence to show metal braces are not faster.

Look, I'm not up on damon/ceramic or whatever like some are, I just wanted to get them on and off asap (I didn't have speed braces either).

My results were amazing, I was 100% compliant as a patient, and 1 year 3 months later, I still wear my retainer 24/7.

I didn't mean to deter anyone or narrow their options, I just giving my opinion based on what I experienced.

yeah, i understand re: newbies.

the retainer thing is more of a personal pref. my ortho said 6 mths, but i kept wearing it. i do, however, notice it's a little harder to put in even if i don't wear it for an evening.

i guess it's become my 'schtick' (don't know if i spelled that correctly!)

i guess if i had any advice about getting braces, esp. for those with concerns (i.e. vanity) it would be, "just do it". it really isn't much to get too worried about in the long run

nico07 wrote:I originally wanted clear, ceramic braces and actually had them for 3 months before deciding to switch to metal. The reason(s) for this was as follows:

1) My work was more cosmetic and you, most often, get better results with metal.

2) Ceramic stains REALLY easily, tomato sauce, esp.

3) It's way faster. With ceramic the ortho said 27months and I ended up getting them off in 21 with full metal.

Hope this helps

Ceramics don't stain that easily, my friend Lucia smokes (she's around 50 years old) and her ceramics are @ their cleaniest.

see clarification above