traditional braces with extractions VS. Damon's.

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#1 Post by **ZoseyPosey** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:12 pm

I haven't considered Damon braces before now simply because there wasn't a provider convenient to where I live. Out of curiosity, I started researching Damon's a little more and I'm very impressed with the results I've seen. There's a provider about an hour away from me and if he can fix my teeth without extractions, the drive will be more than worth it.

So, the rambling leads to this question... has anyone had a consult for traditional braces and was told that extraction was the only way, and then went to a Damon consult and found out that extractions weren't necessary? Are the end results comparable?

thanks!

#2 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:28 pm

I don't know but i had pretty nasty crowding and i have damon's. Pics are kind of small but if you look closely you'll see that they are almost perfectly straight now not even 6 months later.

Feb. 3/09

July 29/09

#3 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:32 pm

I did have a consult 10 years ago saying that i would needs extractions, but i didn't want that considering i had already had all 4 wisdom teeth removed and was down to 28 teeth.

So no i am 26 and i told my ortho i didn't want extractions. He said we'll go with damon's but he was unsure at the time if it could be accomplished. So thats what i went with and now i get to keep all my teeth!

#4 Post by **ZoseyPosey** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:46 pm

Sweet! Those pics are only six months in? Looking pretty awesome! If there's a way to avoid any more extractions (have to do the wisdom teeth) then I'm all for it!

#5 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:04 pm

It will be 6 months on Aug. 3.
I forgot how far they have actually come until yesterday when i compared.
My top teeth, which were nowhere near as crowded haven't moved as fast as the bottom though. On top i have clear brackets(which are not damons) on the front 4 and the half metal/half clear damons on the rest of the top, and on bottom i have the full metal damons.

#6 Post by **braceface418** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:32 pm

I have Damons and I also had four premolars removed. I suspect most of the "no extractions needed ever!" is just clever marketing on the part of Ormco. Maybe some orthodontists push it because they're more likely to get you in the chair if they promise that you won't need extractions.

If you're really concerned, you could try to do braces first without extractions but keep the option open for "down the road" if the teeth just don't seem to be moving without tipping. Or get second, third, fourth, tenth opinions elsewhere until you get some sort of consensus.

#7 Post by **Blossom** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:59 pm

I have Damons.
I had 2 consultations for standard braces over the last 10 years and was told I needed 4-6 teeth removed and possibly to hae my jaw broken and reset as well as an expander on my top jaw.
When I went to an ortho and found out about Damons I was over the moon. I have had them for almost 3 months, I have a really small mouth but my top jaw is already much wider and my teeth are straightening up very quickly (had two very bad bucked and crooked front teeth as well as overcrowing and my midline is way off)
I am glad I chose Damons and the best part is that they could be off in just over a year. Standard braces were going to take 3-4 years.

#8 Post by **gracey82** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:59 pm

I choose ceramic over damon because the damon offered in my orthon is metal braces. And I prefer it to be less visible.

I disagree with Blossom. People seldom need 3-4 years for traditional braces in comparison to olden days. top would be 2 years. Im sentenced to 1.5 years without extraction using traditional method but ceramic braces

#9 Post by **ZoseyPosey** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:40 am

lenoreo - Did your ortho for the Damon's tell you ahead of time that you would be getting the extractions? Just wondering how much they hype the "no extractions" thing. Removing the four premolars is one of my options - is it working well?

I've decided that I'm "tentatively excited" about the possibility until I actually go on the consult and see what this guy says.

#10 Post by **ZoseyPosey** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:48 am

Blossom - Thanks for the response. It sounds like we share a lot of the same mouth issues, so I kinda feel hopeful.

The office is closed today so Monday I'll be calling them to get in for a consult.

gracey82 - I still can't make up my mind about ceramics.

Every time I'm shown a model or a picture, they're on superbright/superwhite teeth so I'm not sure how they'll look on MY teeth (which I will admit aren't super anything. lol) How visible are they in "real life"?

#11 Post by **braceface418** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 4:50 pm

I was told by a few orthos (and other dental professionals I had talked to over the years) that I would very likely need extractions. These conversations came before the type of bracket was decided on.

One other ortho said that I absolutely wouldn't need extractions because of Damon brackets and showed me the picture of another patient who had already been using Damon brackets for a year with a similar pre-braces arrangement of teeth. Honestly, if they were my teeth and a year had passed with them looking as they did, I would have been pretty disappointed, but perhaps she was right.

One orthodontist did suggest SARPE as an alternative to the extractions, but I couldn't afford the cost or potential time off of work. He was also willing to use whatever bracket I wanted to use (assuming that I had an aesthetic preference and that he had it in house). He did mention that he preferred to not use Damons because the doors on the 3 series can be difficult to close. I have had a few stick open, although it's generally a minor problem. I went with them anyway because I didn't want to deal with ligatures, although I still have powerchains, so it's kind of moot.

In summary, get lots of opinions and go with what works best for you.