metal vs. ceramic

[tesmama]

I am a 32 yr old mom of three who will be getting braces (for the second time. First time as a teen) I would like to know how people feel about ceramic braces. Do they discolor? take longer? need more appointments to change elastics due to discoloration? My ortho stated yes to all of the above and recommends metal speed braces. They are smaller than tradional metal barces and do not need elastics. Please help!!!!

[lionfish]

I assume that when you refer to elastics you're referring to the modules or ligatures that secure the archwire.

I have ceramics on my lowers and yes, the pearl ligatures do stain. Currently mine are a lovely fluorescent lime green after 5 weeks of heavy duty red wine drinking and curry eating (one more week and they'll be pristine again....for a few hours - LOL). But as they're on my lower teeth, they're not that obvious. The office said I could come in any time and have the ligs changed, but to be honest I can't be bothered.

The actual braces themselves do not stain.

[BlueeyedManda]

I have ceramics upper and lower. I do colors on the bottom, on top I always do clear ligs, mine stain a little but it seems to blend in with the brackets and teeth so you can't tell. I do not eat curry or drink red wine so that is a reason my staining is not so bad. I go for appts every 4 weeks because that is how often I am seen. My braces are the 3M with the metal slot for the wire so they are just as fast as the regular metal brackets. I think the ceramics are a lot smoother than the metal ones but they are also slightly bigger.
I would talk over the details with your ortho and see why it is he suggests the other braces. If you are leaning towards the ceramics, also talk that over with him and tell him your feelings. I hope this helps.

[Flora2006]

Ceramic braces DO NOT take longer than metal braces. It would vary if you had/are going to have extractions...but it's still the same. It's the skill of your ortho that will determine how long you are in braces.

Ceramic brackets don't stain as it was pointed out. It's the ligs...but you can go for various colors...you just need to experience...I've had clear, white, and a really light silver...they've stained, but not by much. The white ones are the best thus far. Right now I have tooth colored ligs...they aren't clear...they are kind of beige...so far they haven't stained at all...and are not very noticeable...

Good luck with your braces

[bckydgardnr]

I have ceramics on the top front 6 and metal on the rest. The ceramics are slightly larger on your teeth than the metal, but not noticeably. I personally really like the ceramics. The ligatures and the powerchains stain, and at times it is really annoying, but you get used to it! This last adjustment I got a silver power chain over the ceramics and it looks really nice. My husband said it looks high tech...whatever that means.

As far as not working as fast, it really depends on you. If you do everything your ortho tells you to (wear elastics, etc) you will be fine. The ceramics have nothing to do with how fast your teeth move. It is more about your teeth and how inclined they are to moving and the skill of your ortho.

Gardnr

[Maria]

I have ceramic braces on both top and bottom. I've had them for 18 months now, and hopefully they will be coming off by the fall (I hope!!). I have no regrets getting ceramic over metal. Yes, the elastics do stain and I've not had red wine and I drink coffee with a straw to lessen the staining. However, for me, having less noticable braces far exceeds the staining. I make it a point to have the elastics changed every 4 weeks and that helps a lot too.. Perhaps age has something to do with it.. I had my braces put on at 40 and I was/am very self-concious of having metal on my teeth.. My vote is for the ceramic if you don't mind abstaining from certain food and perhaps having the elastics changed more ofter. Hope that helps!!

[Melancholyrose]

The metal speed braces sound pretty neat , but I imagine a lot of adults get ceramic braces.
I am a 31 year old mother of two and college student, and I went full metal for the shock value lol.

[violinist]

I have a friend her name is Lucia Williams shes very short and she wears braces . she is around 50 years old, even thugh she don't look like it, shes so adorable, back to what i was saying, yes she is also my mom' s friend, nd I am lucky enough to have her as my school guidence counciler.She wears braces, the reason she wears them is because if she didn't her teeth would fall out and her teeth would cut into the roof of her mouth nd would cause her such pain and she had a bad overjet, horrific, she describes it to me.well yes she is a guidence counciler and got the braces not too long ago. she has the Clear Ceramic ones on the top, becuase she talks to people teenagers like every minute of everyday and she dicided to go with the clear ceramic kinds on her top row of teeth and the Traditional Steel metal kind on her bottom row . though she has the clear on top she didn't want them to be that visable, all her 9-1 (Freshmen Division 1 {that's her division only}) can tell and all know she wears braces as much as she didn't want ppl to see they all know. But even though she says she hates braces her end resuklt will be her keeping her teeth nd having them be perfect for her and no moore pain. which is good, she's too mice a person to have to go through that much pain.

[nico07]

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

[lemonlyme]

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.
My ortho showed me before and after photos with people that had Metal and Ceramics, both had super results! I've never heard metal gets better results...strange

2) Ceramic stains REALLY easily, tomato sauce, esp.
I have Ceramics, while the ligs do stain, the Ceramic Brackets do not! i got them changed, and super clear they were. Even my colored ligs stained-darn mustard!

3) It's way faster. With ceramic the ortho said 27months and I ended up getting them off in 21 with full metal
Are you sure you wouldn't have had them off in 21 months with ceramics? Peoples teeth move differently, and it seems it's almost the same amount of time whether its ceramics or metal.



Hope this helps

[Julie08]

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!

[Julie08]

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!

[Julie08]

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

[belmikry]

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

[nico07]

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.