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I am scheduled to get both top and bottom braces July 20th and my ortho said I can get any type I want and should get a good result with any and about the same treatment time.
I am considering Damon 3's and ceramics. How did you all choose? I am really not worried about people noticing that I have braces. I had my mind set on ceramics until I heard that the ligs stained. I drink a lotof coffee and really do not want yellow ligs, since I work hard at keeping my teeth white. Now I am torn because the damon's also are looking good to me since they are smaller.
If you all do not mind sharing why you chose your type of braces I would appreciate it. I have been obessed over these braces for the past couple of weeks
I just wanted to thank all who post on this site, I have found such wonderful information and you all are so encouraging.
I wanted minimum visibility so went with lingual uppers and ceramic lowers with clear ligs/powerchains.
The clear ligs and powerchains do stain, but if you're adventurous you can go with colour and then staining is not an issue.
The ceramics were a bit bulky at first, but like everything you get used to it. They may have a deeper profile compared to damons (but don't quote me on that).
I'm a week and half into my Damon 3's. They were pretty much chosen for me. I couldn't do Invisalyn and my ortho thought she would get best results from the Damons. My friend had worked at that office and highly recommended the ortho, so I trusted her guidance.
It took me about a week to get used to them. Now I don't notice that they are on and have been eating more solid food. They are smaller like you said. From what I hear, the adjustments are less painful (yeah!). Also, adjustments are every 10 weeks which is great.
The only downside I've had is loose brackets. I went in for my one week check and had a loose bracket. Friday at 6 pm, another bracket came loose and has been twriling around in my mouth all weekend. Four brackets did not initially hold when I got them on. I'm not sure if it's typical, but it's been a bit frustrating for me.
Good luck with your decision. I think it all boils down to what's best for you and which you'll be happiest with.
I chose self ligating (like Damons) because they are smaller, supposed to be more comfortable, and the treatment time is supposed to be a bit faster, and has been reported in some cases to be reduced by as much as 6 months. Dentists will tell you that they all work in about the same amount of time, but sometimes self ligating can speed things up. I'm all about getting out of these things as quickly as possible so I was willing to take the chance that I might get out of them even a couple months sooner. Adjustments on self ligating brackets are usually about every 8 weeks rather than every 6 weeks. This meant less trips to the ortho. I'm busy and that was a big plus. I really didn't care about wearing colors on my braces, I wanted plain silver. Self ligating don't use ligs so you don't have to worry about that aspect either. I too drink a lot of coffee and didn't want brackets that were going to be stained. So....that is why I went with them.
So far I have seen great results with mine. I have Time2 Self Ligating brackets that are actually smaller than Damons. They are very comfortable. Other than the initial getting use to them period they have been great. 8 weeks now seems like a long time in between adjustments for me, but I have seen great movement and change with them in only 4 months so I really can't complain. My son also wears the same brackets. He got his on Feb 10th and the ortho says he should be finished and out of them by December. I like that they don't have the colored ligs, and my son likes that too. About the only thing I have noticed with them is that occasionally the archwired will slide and I will have to either move the wire myself with tweezers or go in and have them fixed at the ortho. This has only happened once for me and once for my son, so not a lot. My ortho says this is a problem with the self ligating as they use clips instead of ligs and it sometimes happens.
I did a bunch of research before deciding on these and specifically asked my ortho for them. Hope this info helps you decide.
I wanted to have braces that were clear on top. I like that when I am standing a few feet away from someone you cant even see them. Many times I actually point them out to people and they are like "oh wow I didnt notice you had braces" I also considered my orthos recommendation. As far as staining I drink a lot of soda (i know bad!) but I havent had problems with really bad staining. I have learned what foods to steer clear of. But I know that the ligs can be changed so I dont deprive myself, kwim? Actually I started using a pearl ligs a few adjustments ago and havent had any trouble with staining.
Ceramic Upper braces: November 29, 2005
Metal Lowers go on: March 7th, 2006
Hi. I originally was going to have regular metal braces with ligs. There was a 7/8 month time between my consultation and actually geting them put on (I had to wait for my husbands insurance to kick in). Anyway, by the time I had them put on, my orthodontist no longer used the regular brackets. I asked the office manager what type would be good for me and she recommended Dammon 3's. That is what I got. I love them. I did have problems witht he doors because I make a BUNDLE of tartar. I eventually had to have the lowers replaced with smart clips - still self ligating. I am the exception when it comes to major door problems, BTW.
As for time between appointments, I have gone anywhere from 3 to 12 weeks depending on what needed to be done. Seems like the closer I get to the end, the more frequent my visits...
I think you will like them, but can only compare them to the Smart clips I have on the bottom. I DEFFINATELY like the Dammom 3's better.
Had Damon 3 / Smart Clips for almost 2 years
Now in Hawley upper 10 hours/day, permanent lower retainers
Well my ortho has offered me ceramics on the top 6 but I am just going to have full metal top and bottom (the regular kind)
I don't care about people seeing I have braces and I'm a slightly wacky kind of person who doesn't care what anyone else thinks about how I look - AND I want purple ligs, hence the full metal choice.
It was really nice to be able to ask what everyone's opinion was on braces when I had to decide.
I chose the In-Ovation R's. I only got my braces on the 15th of June, but I really like my braces. My ortho said Invisaline wouldn't work for me, but he gave me the options of In-Ovations (self-ligating braces--plaine silver) or 3M Clarity (clear ceramic). My ortho said that both of these would give me really good results.....although the ceramic would extend my treatment time. I went onto both the web sites and read up on them. I also spoke to my ortho's assistant. All the info on the web sites was (just like Kiwi said) all advertising. At least with the In-Ovation site they gave detailed info about how they were placed and how the little doors worked. I think the best info came from my ortho assistant. She told me that the ceramic braces have a very slight chance of cracking the enamel of your teeth when they are removed. She also told me the ceramic are a larger bracket and the patients generally seem to take longer to get used to them. She said the In-Ovations don't use the ligs to hold the wire into place. She said that is a big bonus because the ligs trap food and help create plaque. They are more difficult to keep clean. On top of that, she also told me that they are more difficult for her to do the adjustments on.
For all those reasons I chose the In-Ovation R's. They are reasonable to keep clean (I am still getting used to flossing with braces), I have almost completely forgot that I have them on, and the adjustment times should be longer between!
Good luck with your decision. I hope that info helped you.......keep on brushing.
Originally I wanted to go for the clear braces, but in the end I chose all metal. The factors as presented to me: cheaper, smaller, easier to remove . . . they were quite willing to use the clear type, but the clincher for me was that the ortho preferred working with metal. I finally figured if he knows what works best with his style of orthodontics, I should go with that.
I don't care about people seeing I have braces and I'm a slightly wacky kind of person who doesn't care what anyone else thinks about how I look - AND I want purple ligs, hence the full metal choice.
If you go with the metal and want the purple to show, be sure you go with a light or bright purple. I've got a darker, smokey purple and they blend right into the metal braces so no one's even noticed
Spacers June 1, 2006
Braces on top June 8, 2006
Braces on bottom August 21, 2006
Only two years to go!
My ortho specializes in Damon system training, so that's what I got. I was thrilled, because I was previously told I'd need extractions. With Damons, I was able to skip the extractions entirely. Plus, the fact that I can go longer between adjustments is a big time-saver. I'm not constantly having to take time off work to run to the ortho. I've found the Damons to be really comfortable and fast-moving; they haven't given me any problems whatsoever.
Easy! I chose ceramic top & bottom because I wanted them to be as invisible as possible. I never regretted my choice. In fact in my 2 years in braces a lot of people thought I was just wearing a retainer. Some people didn't notice at all!!!
Braces on: September 9, 2004
Treatment time: 2 years
Well, my ortho really didn't mention any other brackets to me-and I didn't ask him. I asked my girlfriend what she thought I should get and she said straight up metal. So thats what I did, and glad I did- these things are tiny.
It was really nice to be able to ask what everyone's opinion was on braces when I had to decide.
I only got my braces on the 15th of June, but I really like my braces. My ortho said Invisaline wouldn't work for me, but he gave me the options of In-Ovations (self-ligating braces--plaine silver) or 3M Clarity (clear ceramic). My ortho said that both of these would give me really good results.....although the ceramic would extend my treatment time. I went onto both the web sites and read up on them. I also spoke to my ortho's assistant. All the info on the web sites was (just like Kiwi said) all advertising. At least with the In-Ovation site they gave detailed info about how they were placed and how the little doors worked. I think the best info came from my ortho assistant. She told me that the ceramic braces have a very slight chance of cracking the enamel of your teeth when they are removed. She also told me the ceramic are a larger bracket and the patients generally seem to take longer to get used to them. She said the In-Ovations don't use the ligs to hold the wire into place. She said that is a big bonus because the ligs trap food and help create plaque. They are more difficult to keep clean. On top of that, she also told me that they are more difficult for her to do the adjustments on. 
I still have not decided, but I have a couple more weeks to ponder!
