please help - stuck between lingual and ceramic :(

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#1 Post by **lauren** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:11 am

Hi all,

I had my orthodontic consult yesterday, and it looks like I have two options:

-$8500, lingual top/ceramic bottom
-$6500, ceramic top & bottom

I am 26, own a business that requires me to interact with people to get clients, as well as working full time for another company. I'm concerned about aesthetics and want to look good. I'm the type of person who worries that I will be concerned every time I meet someone new that they're juding me for my braces. I don't want to NOT smile when I meet people.

Both treatments will take 18-20 months.

What would you do? What are the pros/cons of each (beyond aesthetics)? How do you feel about your braces?

Thanks, everyone.

#2 Post by **jaswi** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:16 am

Well, ceramics would be a whole lot less likely to effect speech at all. I really think for adults, people look at men in braces a lot more than women in a bad sense. If you see a woman in braces its no big deal, cause they are expected to care about their appearance more than men(I hope that doesn't sound too bad, especially since its coming from a man).

If I were you, with a $2000 price difference, I would go ceramics, hands down.

#3 Post by **lauren** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:32 am

Thanks for the feedback. My biggest fear is that I don't want to look stupid. I'm sure lots of adults struggle with that, I'm not the only one, haha. It's just weird, I am a typical ex-sorority girl in a lot of ways and try super hard to take care of myself. I'm a somewhat pretty girl, though I'm my own worst critic, and I secretly have crap self esteem. :\

jaswi wrote:Well, ceramics would be a whole lot less likely to effect speech at all. I really think for adults, people look at men in braces a lot more than women in a bad sense. If you see a woman in braces its no big deal, cause they are expected to care about their appearance more than men(I hope that doesn't sound too bad, especially since its coming from a man).

If I were you, with a $2000 price difference, I would go ceramics, hands down.

#4 Post by **NYG2007** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:42 pm

Too add my two cents...
I am a male with ceramic braces. To be honest with you no one really cares. Hindsight is 20/20 vision of course. I was worried before I got braces. I didn't tell anyone at work. My fiance came to my job to meet me for something and told some co-workers the Friday before I got them on. She couldn't wait to inform my co-workers because we make fun of each other for fun. No one really has made any braces jokes. Most thought it was cool and good for me. I got the "Why/Your teeth look fine to me" a lot. I haven't had any difference in my professional life. I haven't noticed any weird looks from anyone on the street or when I go to other buildings for work. Most people don't notice or care. There are several people at my job who didn't mention anything about my braces. One reason may be because they didn't notice them. They most likely would tell me because that is how everyone is at my job.

Since I got braces a co-worker did too. I also have another co-worker who went to have a consultation at an Orthodontist. Both of them were male. It seems like I got braces and I sparked a revolution at work. I really had nothing to do with the other cases at work. It is just kind of funny that since I got braces, someone else did and another is looking into it. One more note, we also have someone at my job in Invisilign. She had them before my orthodontic work, but I recommended her dentist for it. So see, you may start a trend where you work.

I couldn't go with lingual or Invisilign because my Orthodontist said it wouldn't work (in my case). I didn't want Invisilign or linguals. That was a personal preference for me. It is up to you, but ceramic braces aren't bad at all. I Hope that helps.

#5 Post by **lionfish** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:24 pm

I went with lingual uppers and ceramic lowers, the cost difference was some A$6K compared to having ceramics on both arches.

I'm one of those people who didn't want to show braces on my top teeth - I know, there is nothing rational about this and it's true that no-one cares - but I felt more comfortable doing it this way.

It just comes down to personal preference. Go with your gut instinct.

#6 Post by **lionfish** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:48 pm

Meryaten, the joke is on me: after a while I did the silly coloured lig thing on my lowers!

#7 Post by **oski1970** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:13 pm

I have ceramic top and bottom. Like everyone has said no one is going to make a big deal about them. The fact is they are going to notice them even if they are ceramic. If I could go back I would have just gone with the reg ones and saved a few bucks.

Good luck and try not to stress to much over them.

#8 Post by **ssfw** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:30 pm

I had ceramic on the upper and metal on the lower back and ceramic on the lower front teeth. I think both the ceramic and metal look fine - I was just a bit self conscious about having all metal brackets. The metal brackets look nice and are very small. If I had to wear all metal braces to have my teeth look their best, I would have chosen all metal, but, my orthodontist said either was fine. The only reason he wanted me to wear the metal brackets on some of my lower teeth was because I was going to have to eventually wear elastics on some of those teeth and he felt with the added pressure on the teeth, the metal would be best.

Even before I begin my orthodontic treatment, I was always so impressed with adults that wore braces because I knew for some of them it took alot to make that decision. I was so proud of myself for taking that big step also and never regretted the decision.

Choose whatever you feel is best for you and your teeth. Believe me, after I got my braces on, I never really gave it a second thought, unless I was eating.

Good luck.

ssfw

#9 Post by **Lola** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 12:29 am

Hi Lauren, is the Invisalign option out the window??? Glad you're looking at ceramics now too so you still have a choice! I have ceramics which I like, but since I've never had linguals I can't make any sort of judgment on which is better! Apart from the price difference, did your ortho make any distinction between the two? Does he/she have a preference for you?

#10 Post by **mary.** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:52 am

I have ceramics on top, metal on bottom. For some reason, my ortho would not put ceramics on the bottom.

I love them! The ceramics are certainly noticeable up close, but they don't stand out.

Personally, I would not worry about appearances. I have had my braces for almost a year now and I have not had a single negative comment. I think that people's reaction is usually a direct reflection of your own attitude. If you're happy and proud of your braces, they will be happy for you too. It's a great thing that you doing and you have every right to be very proud of yourself. As others have mentioned, for most people, it's just no big deal and they offer only words of encouragement.

#11 Post by **mary.** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:52 am

I have ceramics on top, metal on bottom. For some reason, my ortho would not put ceramics on the bottom.

I love them! The ceramics are certainly noticeable up close, but they don't stand out.

Personally, I would not worry about appearances. I have had my braces for almost a year now and I have not had a single negative comment. I think that people's reaction is usually a direct reflection of your own attitude. If you're happy and proud of your braces, they will be happy for you too. It's a great thing that you doing and you have every right to be very proud of yourself. As others have mentioned, for most people, it's just no big deal and they offer only words of encouragement.

#12 Post by **rolo** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:07 am

Type of braces is such a personal thing. For me I love the linguals I have on top, they are great, really very comfortable. I just love them, I can't really feel I am wearing them, if my ortho told me I had to wear them for the next five years it wouldn't bother me, absolutley no rush to get them off. They are completely invisible.

Lower ceramics, yes they are okay, for me and this is purely personal, not a right or wrong way of doing things, the disadvantages are: to me they feel a little more bulky, but not uncomfortable. My ortho only does tooth coloured ligatures, so staining is a bit of an issue, that said they are very kind at the surgery and offer to change them whenever I want free of charge. The biggest issue for me is that they do tend to trap a bit of food and I'm a bit self concious about this. I don't seem to have this with IBraces on top, but thats a small price to pay for nice teeth. This is just my experience, I hope I haven't offended anyone here.

There's quite a few threads on the same on the lingual part of the forum too.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:00 am

My two cents: I wear ceramic and I work in corporate america in NYC. I see people, talk to people, around people 40+ hours a week.

No one really cares what is going on in your mouth. I thought long and hard about everything you mentioned and honestly it's really not a big deal.

Someone had to tell me that! At the end of the day, its just YOU who are going to think you look like an idiot.

Put it like this....if you fall down and break your arm, and have to wear a cast...people are going to wonder "damn, you are wearing a cast, what happened?"

same thing with braces..."You've got braces!...You must be trying to correct teeth"

If I were you, go with the ceramic. It will save you money and they do the same job!!

#14 Post by **lauren** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:53 pm

Hi Lola! Yep, Invisilign's out the window. I have an open bite and apparently they aren't good for that because they make that problem even WORSE plus I have an extra tooth on the bottom and one too few teeth on top (genetic defect apparently?) so it's just kind of involved. :\

Dentist says I need to do ceramic (or metal but i'm choosing ceramic) on the bottom but that I can do lingual or ceramic/metal on the top with the same treatment time.

Lola wrote:Hi Lauren, is the Invisalign option out the window??? Glad you're looking at ceramics now too so you still have a choice! I have ceramics which I like, but since I've never had linguals I can't make any sort of judgment on which is better! Apart from the price difference, did your ortho make any distinction between the two? Does he/she have a preference for you?

#15 Post by **browneyedgrl** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:15 pm

Hi Lauren,

I work in outside sales and I've wear ceramic uppers and metal lowers(my ortho doesn't offer ceramics on the bottom)and hardly anyone notices them. I've been dealing with my customers for almost 2 years and got my braces about 8 months ago and I only had positive comments.

Good luck.

B