Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm new to this board, and considering getting braces at 54 due to teeth shifting with age and crowding. One ortho I spoke with said they do not use the Damon 3 system now due to recent conference info saying they have found more problems with the Damon 3 clear brackets breaking off. Has anyone here used either the Damon 2 or Damon 3 system and had any problem with brackets breaking off? Would you recommend using one or the other over regular ceramic or metal brackets? Has anyone with ICE brackets had any problem with theirs breaking off? Thanks for any advice.

I have Damon 3's and my ortho said he has experience with these and that they do not break off frequently. In addition, he recommends them because they can move teeth a bit faster than other braces he has used.My personal opinion is that braces will brake off only if you chew hard stuff and do things you were not supposed to do with them on.

Good luck with your research.

i have had damon 3's for over a year. when i first started, my ortho had completely switched to damon3's for their speed and all that jazz, but he has seen so many problems with the gates and breakage that he has discontinued using them. i haven't had alot of breakage, but my gates are hard to open and close, which can be frustrating.

Thanks for the replies, Tatiana and Mostro. Attagirl mentioned tartar building up on her gates making it hard to open them, so maybe that's the problem with some depending on body chemistry. Maybe it also varies depending on how long you go between visits, or how meticulous one is with keeping them clean after eating, or what you tend to eat. Have any of your own "gates" broken off, and if so, what do they have to do--glue on a whole new bracket?

My ortho told me something similar, and I have Damon 3s. She said that the part-clear version is more likely to break off, so she only used them on the teeth less likely to suffer impact, the top teeth. The bottoms are all metal. Check out the picture below - this is from the Damon website and it's exactly what I have. To date, none of the brackets have broken off from normal wear. And I eat things I'm probably not supposed to. I was able to bite one of the molar brackets off during a nightmare, but that's it. If your ortho thinks Damon brackets would be good for you, there's no reason not to give them a shot (in my opinion). Good luck!

If the gates/doors stick on the Damons, what does that mean other than maybe annoying the technicians dealing with them? Does it hurt more if they have to work at prying them open, just take longer in the chair, or what? Just wondering (and not wanting any extra pain!)

I wear Damons and I've had no problems whatsoever with the doors not opening or closing easily. The only problem I've had with a bracket popping off was because the bracket had to be placed over a metal filling on the side of my back molar. That would have happened regardless of the type of bracket used.

I read somewhere that Damon came out with a special tool for opening the gates on the Damon 3's thus helping to eliminate the problems they were having. My ortho also had a tool they use to hold in the thick wire when closing the gates. I myself have not had any problems with gates (even though I wear Damon 2's not 3's) or brackets coming off. My daughter wears Damon 3's and she too has had no problems. So not only is it the chemistry of the person wearing them but also the experience of the staff treating you.

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12/16/04

I've had no problems with brackets popping or breaking off. I have had problems with the doors opening, though. Mostly the problem was the tech. being a complete ditz. If the ortho or tech. working on you isn't experienced with the brackets then they're not going to work well for you.

I have ICE brackets on my top teeth and have not had any problems thus far.

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I have seen three orthos to date, and have two to go before deciding. Every one of them has been completely different in what they use and say they would do, so it's hard to decide. I didn't think my case was all that difficult, but as my dentist said, if you go to 15 different orthodontists, you'll probably get 15 different opinions...I'm learning so much more just reading on this board already, that I pity the two left when I start bombarding them with all my new questions!

I have had problems with the doors opening, though. Mostly the problem was the tech. being a complete ditz. If the ortho or tech. working on you isn't experienced with the brackets then they're not going to work well for you.

Dittos on that. My tech was always afraid to ask the ortho or another tech to help her open or close Damons that were being stubborn. Half way thru my treatment I would just tell her to ask someone for help. Some people are more proficient opening and closing Damon brackets.

As far as brackets coming off...most of mine were lower brackets and I chomped off the clear plastic on several during my treatment. Go for all metal Damons on the bottom if you can. I wish I had that option when I got braced!

I've been in Damon 2s for 22 months. I've had one door break off (but I hadn't even noticed until the ortho assistant pointed it out at an adjustment appointment). None of the brackets have broken off. The ortho has just been using a wire tie on the one bracket with the missing door.

I've had Damon 3's on for a week now. I went in for a check today and little did I know that I had a loose bracket. The tech pulled it off, scraped off the tooth and grinded down the cement. Since my teeth are sensitive from the new braces, it hurt a bit, but was tolerable.

I was surprised that one was loose since I didn't feel any different. They said it's usually during the first 48 hours to week that there might be loosening or another problem with the brackets. When I had them put on, about 4 of them didn't take, so they had to scrape, grind, etc each one again. Think a lot of it was that I had a mouth full of saliva and they needed to have the teeth dry.

The Damons seem to work fast. I'm already feeling my teeth loosening up and the tech who did my mold said that she could see that they are already moving!

I've had Damon 3's on for a week now. I went in for a check today and little did I know that I had a loose bracket. The tech pulled it off, scraped off the tooth and grinded down the cement. Since my teeth are sensitive from the new braces, it hurt a bit, but was tolerable.

I was surprised that one was loose since I didn't feel any different. They said it's usually during the first 48 hours to week that there might be loosening or another problem with the brackets. When I had them put on, about 4 of them didn't take, so they had to scrape, grind, etc each one again. Think a lot of it was that I had a mouth full of saliva and they needed to have the teeth dry.

The Damons seem to work fast. I'm already feeling my teeth loosening up and the tech who did my mold said that she could see that they are already moving!