Metal Mouth Message Board

hi folks ive been looking at different kind of braces and i came across a place that does Metal Self Ligating Brackets i think these are damon braces do they really work faster cheers .

I can't say for sure that they do work faster, but after extensive research for my own braces, I have decided to go with the Damon braces because it would appear that they do work in a faster amount of time. I found some information on the damon website that was particularly helpful. They claim to shave an average of 6 months off treatment time. I would go with them even if they only took a week of treatment :-)

Actually Damon is just one brand of self-ligating brackets. I am doing SPEED braces, which are also self ligating, but the difference is in the wire lock (one of them has a slider, the other one is like a door).
So far, I like self-ligating braces. Not sure if they work faster, but I already see gaps between my front teeth and increased overbite in just 6 weeks. So they do work. And they are smaller and less messier, IMAO. So if you can afford it and your ortho recommends, go for them. Good luck!

At least one of the orthos who frequent the board has posted on this topic (sorry--can't find that post). I remember him saying that Damon's don't reduce the time spent in braces significantly. I think he said they do faster movement in the beginning, but they are harder to use in the end stage where the final tweaking and minor movement takes place.

Don't worry about the bracket type--the bracket is merely a tool. The real skill lies in the person wielding the tool. Find an ortho you trust and go with whatever bracket he uses.

I have read all of the bragging on the Damon website about how superior their brackets are but I don't believe it; also read the message that tumble dry low refered to and absolutely concour. I had Damon 3MX brackets with good success but don't believe them superior than ligature type brackets. Your Ortho will probably have a preference for some reason or another that puts the ball in his/her court. Best of luck.

As described above, Damon is simply a brand of brackets. They have made claims, as have other manufacturers, regarding the superiority of their braces. It is unfortunate that marketing has taken over evidence in our field. See the following blog entry I wrote summarizing the evidence regarding self-ligating braces.

http://markhamortho.blogspot.com/2010/1 ... ntist.html

I have Damon braces now. I completely agree that they may work well in the beginning getting everything straightened out, but the tweaking is very difficult. There are a few teeth that need the bracket ripped off and repositioned every appointment yet still don't rotate into position. For a while now, I have been wondering if maybe Damon was not the best choice as they seem to have no predictable effect on teeth that need rotated. I see my ortho every 2-3 weeks, so the claim that Damon requires less appointments has not been true thus far, either.

In my opinion, wires move teeth, not the brackets. The placement of brackets is important but it is the wire that you should be concerned with.

I have Damon braces and I'm happy with them so far although it's only been six weeks.

As far Damons working faster is concerned, I'll tell you what my Ortho told me in our consult. He said, "Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on the case and accurate placement of the brackets is extremely important."

He explained that he uses Damons because there are fewer adjustment appointments required and the adjustments are faster--something that both children and adults appreciate--and patients report that Damons are more comfortable. He also said that this applies to all self-ligating systems. So it doesn't matter which one you chose.

The only difference between self-ligating and conventional brackets is the method used to attach the bracket to the archwire. That's it. This produces less friction between the bracket and wire, and keeps the force constant vs. elastomeric ligatures. This makes a difference with the round archwires when the wires are being pulled into the bracket slot and/or slid along the archwire.

When you are rotating the face of the teeth or rotating them around the archwire (via rectangular wires), self-ligating brackets are neutral, at best. (And there are some arguments that the lower wire friction and shorter slot length is disadvantageous in these stages.)

Extensive studies (including one that put half an arch in conventionals, the other half in SL's) have generally shown a shorter chair time, and maybe one or two fewer visits. No significant reduction in total treatment time. However, unless your time is really valuable, I personally wouldn't pay extra for them. (In fact, since most of the benefits seem to be to the orthodontist, (who can now cycle through more patients), you'd think orthos would put them in for no additional charge.)

I imagine self-ligating brackets aren't any more sensitive when mis-positioned, but they are generally smaller, and I imagine harder to place to begin with.

There's a reason that companies spend millions of dollars on advertising, and that reason is to make more money. People actually believe the hype. Remember that your time in the ortho's chair is worth money, the less time in his chair, the fewer appointments, the fewer assistants he needs to hire, the more money he makes. It takes a lot less time to snap a bracket shut than to ligate it with a rubber or steel ligature, but with the ligatures you can regulate the tension which seems to me to be an important attribute. and as said previously, often you don't want the teeth to slide easily. My ortho had to use powerchains and figure eights with steel ligature wire to keep gaps from opening up.

My advice is to make your treatment decision based upon the ortho, not the bracket. Talking to a bracket will do you no good. Orthodontics is both an art and a science. Brackets and wires are merely tools.

But wouldn't SL type brackets cost more to manufacture?

I am so glad I read this post. I have the traditional brackets (with bands) and I had the same type many years ago as a teenager. Makes me feel better as I was under the impression that SL was the top option. Thanks for posting the the informative blog as well!

A lot of good points are on here, so I'll add my thoughts.

As far as I'm concerned the brackets aren't really what make Damon braces unique or even faster (although I do believe less friction helps movement, and not to mention they are very discreet and they make appointment times less than 10 minutes to change out the wires).

After reading and researching, it's the Damon arch wires which are different---that's what makes the Damon braces unique (braces aren't just brackets, they're brackets and arch wire systems). They claim the technology in the arch wires makes movement more efficient and things like leveling, rotating and aligning can be done simultaneously. The wires widen the arches without expanders too. Also their wires can work for a very long time (some wires up to 10 weeks).

I do agree with the person above who said Damon is marketed really well, I was also told this by an ortho that uses a different type of SL bracket.

In the end, do Damon braces work faster? I'd say yes, but if you're going to be wearing braces for 24 months with traditional braces, maybe Damon would do the work in 21 months? Is it worth the extra cost for a couple months less in braces?

Personally I went with Damons 6 weeks ago after doing a lot of research---the appealing things were mainly the discreetness and fast appointments promise which so far has stood true. I didn't want the braces to be too noticeable and definitely didn't want to spend any more time than I had to in the ortho chair. So far my appointment intervals have been every 4 weeks, they would have been 8 weeks if I didn't need those coil springs inserted. The extra 500 was/is worth it to me.

It's true that the "Damon System" involves an archwire of a different, wider, more square-ish, shape. But something resembling that same shape is available (without all the fancy marketing) from other suppliers. (I know 3M offers their MBT+ system, which looks similar.)