Metal Mouth Message Board

I will be getting braces soon, and I am looking into getting ceramics. Obviously my orthdontist is the only one who can give me a true answer based on my specific situation, but I'm just trying to get in some research before I go back for my next visit.

Basically, I have an overbite, and I'll be getting braces for a while before orthognathic surgery to lengthen my mandible. I know it's possible with an overbite for my upper teeth to be hitting against my lower brackets; Since part of my problem is my lower teeth wearing away against the backs of my upper teeth, I would say this is pretty likely in my case. If this is the case with me, how does that limit my choice of bracket material on the bottom teeth? Would ceramics chip or break with my top teeth hitting them, or would my upper teeth have a higher risk of chipping with ceramics versus metal?

If your top teeth hit the ceramic brackets on your lower teeth, this will wear the top teeth down because the ceramic material is harder than the enamel on your teeth. This is not a problem with the metal brackets because that material is softer than your teeth.

You can still have ceramic brackets on your lower teeth if your orthodontist says it's OK, but you may have to have some type of material glued to your teeth to prevent the brackets from hitting your teeth.

Perhaps your orthodontist will choose to fit bands around your lower molars, and have you in top braces for the first few months, until your bite starts to lift. This is what my ortho did. I had to have a bite plate and wear rubber bands to open my bite.

I didn't get the lower brackets on until into a year of treatment, but within 5 minutes of leaving my ortho's office the day I got them put on, I managed to bite one off. Talk to your ortho, see what their plan is, and tell them what you want.

I have had my lower braces for 7 months and my upper premolars still hit lower brackets. i am happy that I opted for lower metal brackets.

Emailed the ortho, and sure enough, it will be ceramic on top and metal on bottom (assuming I don't go lingual, which I don't think I will).

Meryaten wrote:I should have mentioned sooner, too, that if you are looking at surgery down the line, then you should be sure what, if any, restrictions your OS might impose. The OS with whom my ortho usually works actually requires metal brackets. On the other hand, the OS I ended up using had no problem that my uppers were in ceramics.

I have an appointment with my OS tomorrow, so I planned on asking him then.

seriously wrote:Can you have linguals if you have jaw surgery? Mine said "no". Anyway, keep us updated on your progress!

I think it just depends on the surgeon or the situation. Haven't talked to my surgeon yet, but I know when I was at the ortho and he was giving anecdotes about the surgery, he mentioned a lady that had linguals, had surgery, and was well enough to get married a couple days later, so I know it's at least possible.

I am no dental pro, but based on my experience I would strongly suggest metal brackets on your lowers.

I opted for ceramic and not only did it chip away at my upper teeth, but also I think it resulted in my 4mm overject that I have now.

I think my ortho tipped my lower teeth too far back so they would not bother my upper teeth too much and now have the mother of all overjets that sucks in my lower lip.