ceramic vs metal uppers

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#1 Post by **fldhkybnva** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:46 pm

I will be braced in a few weeks and my ortho has said that he could put ceramics on my upper teeth instead of metal. However, he has expressed that he feels the ceramics are less effective and prefers the metal brackets. i would only do the ceramics for aesthetic purposes. did anyone not get ceramics on the uppers and later regret it? also, does anyone have any additional information about the effectiveness of ceramic vs metal brackets?

thanks.

#2 Post by **bracedintx** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:43 pm

You know, my ortho had told me the same thing, plus he charged more for ceramics. I went for the metal (self-ligating) thinking they would be faster and I'll tell you what--my estimate was 18-22 months and i'm now at 32 months and still counting. There are many, many people on here who have had ceramics and have been very happy with the results, and did not have ridiculously long stretches in their braces.
Having said that, each ortho has a comfort level with particular brackets, so it may be that he prefers to work with the metal ones and feels that he gets better results. If that's the case, then--imho--i would go with the metal ones simply because he will be more proficient with them and you may get the best results that way.
But, if he's a good ortho and offers ceramics then surely he can work with those as well. And as others have said on here many times: it's not the brackets that move teeth, it's the archwires

Oh, and no, I personally don't regret not getting ceramics

#3 Post by **Miss Smiley** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:00 am

I have the sapphire brackets and my treatment time has actually shortened since b-day. Not sure if it is just me or because I go in for adjustments every 3 weeks. My ortho said that it didn't matter if I picked ceramic or metal, he said it wouldn't make a difference. I chose clear for aesthetics and I ended up getting colors so no big deal.

#4 Post by **skyhawk** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:53 am

I have ceramic uppers, and let me tell you, they make a big aesthetic difference. It added $300 to my treatment cost, but hey, when you're already forking over thousands of dollars, that extra few hundred doesn't seem so bad.

My ortho never mentioned anything about ceramic brackets increasing my time in braces; the estimate was ~24 months regardless of my bracket choice.

The only caveat with ceramic uppers is that, if your teeth are very white (mine aren't), the clear ligatures (o-rings) used with ceramic brackets can become stained.

I just made an unscheduled visit to the ortho this morning because a bracket on one of my top molars popped off over the weekend. They removed about half the ligs on my top archwire, put a new bracket on, then put the archwire back in place.

You can actually see the color difference between the 11-day-old ligs and the new ones. I'll just have to up my tea consumption over the next couple days to stain the new ligs.

Some orthos will provide slightly off-white ligs that won't stain like the clear ones do, I'm going to ask for that at my first adjustment.

All things considered, I would still recommend ceramic uppers.

#5 Post by **pearls** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:42 am

I have all metal brackets and I love them. I have only been braced for 6 days, and already I have become used to them. I actually became used to them by the third day. They do not feel big at all, nor do they make my lip protrude at all. I'm happy that I can eat anything I like, and not worry about staining my ligatures (they are pink and purple). If you want your braces to be discreet, then maybe go for the ceramic. But for myself, I wasn't worried about the appearance of the metal ones, in fact I actually prefer the appearance of metal brackets. My ortho also suggested that metal brackets are the most effective brackets, so I took his word for it.

Good luck with your choice.

Pearls

#6 Post by **Zombo** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:20 am

I had the option of ceramics top and bottom, but opted for all metal after my ortho told me he thought I'd get better and faster results with metal. As a bonus, I got SmartClips and don't have to worry about staining any ligatures!

I guess I'm one of the "I don't care what people think" folks who actually like the way I look with my metallic bite!

#7 Post by **artroxu** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:36 am

I'm the same way. I figured that ppl are going to notice I have braces whether they are ceramic or metal, plus I heard that ceramics are bulkier and therefore harder to get use to. I'm one of those "I don't care what ppl think" ppl, so it doesn't bug me. My co-workers call be brace face and its funny, cuz I know its in good humor. The only way to really pull off having braces and ppl dont know at all is invisalign. Plus with the ceramics if you get anything but white or clear ligs you have defeated the point of getting ceramics, and if you get white or clear then you have to worry about staining. I have all metal smart clips. I had to use wax alot for the first week but haven't since then and I think they are great. But thats just me. Think about what you want out of braces, weigh the pros and cons and go with your gut.

#8 Post by **platinum** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:45 am

I have ceramic uppers and metallic lowers. I really like ceramic brackets. They dod not show so much as metallic ones.

The only negative point is that the slot in the ceramic bracket is longer than in metal. I have bad nickel allergy so i had to start with stainless steel wires in the beginning. Not those flexible Ni-Ti wires. It was quite painful for the start.

#9 Post by **rolo** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:57 am

I have on the bottom and wasn't too bothered about how they looked, people don't really notice the bottom teeth much, but my ortho suggested I go for ceramic, as I was concerned about mouth ulcers, he thougth the radiance ceramic brackets would be smoother than the metal ones he uses. He did tell me that some orthos think ceramics can add to treatment time by a few months, but didn't feel this would affect my case. I took his advice and have been pleased with the comfort levels.

#10 Post by **Bekah** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:04 pm

I completely understand the confusion! I was in the same position except that there was absolutely zero difference in cost between ceramic and metal. The orthodontist was actually shocked when I requested all metal brackets! He said his standard practice was that all adults got ceramic brackets.

I am personally thrilled with the metal and am happy with my choice! I looked into both and based my decision on how far the brackets stuck up off the teeth. I figured since metal ones were lower profile, I wouldn't have as hard as time getting use to them.

#11 Post by **mikecl** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:22 pm

I have ceramic brackets on both my upper and lower arches and I couldn't be happier. My ortho never mentioned any difference in treatment time between the two and given the relatively small difference in price between the two I chose the ceramics.

I'm not self-conscious about my braces and I am smiling a lot more since I got them but I did feel more comfortable with how ceramics looked.

As you can already see from the other responses, we all have different views and there is no right or wrong answer; you should simply go with whatever makes you feel the happiest.

All the best.

Mike

#12 Post by **beth1966** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:33 pm

To all those folks with ceramic braces - can you tell me what brand you have and if they are ligating or self ligating? THANKS!

#13 Post by **mikecl** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:07 pm

Beth

To be honest I have no idea what brand they are and I think they are ligating brackets.

I've got pics of them in my "story so far" for which the link is below but I've never thought to ask the ortho for the brand name

Cheers

Mike

#14 Post by **SunnyO** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:12 pm

I have the Ice clear on top and metal on the bottom. A friend of mine (who just had her braces removed) saw me today and said "Your braces look so much better than mine - I should have gotten those." It is definitely a personal preference and I did metal the 1st time I had braces, so I thought I'd do something different this time. I think my clear uppers are smoother on my lips and cheeks than my metals, but they are thicker in profile.

#15 Post by **beth1966** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:26 pm

mikecl wrote:Beth

To be honest I have no idea what brand they are and I think they are ligating brackets.

I've got pics of them in my "story so far" for which the link is below but I've never thought to ask the ortho for the brand name

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike and thanks!

Well they are ligating if you get those little rubber band ligatures changed at each adjustment. And I can't even tell if you have those in your pics - everything looks so white and clean with no stains. I must say you had great looking teeth before your braces went on - hard to tell why you need them. I will have to go back and read your story as to the background of why you needed them to begin with.

Thks again - Beth