Metal Mouth Message Board

When had my first visit yesterday my ortho quickly showed me what type of braces I could get. He did not want to scare me too much I guess so he did it quickly just to let me see

It was either full metal or metal on my back teeth and white (ceramic?) in the front (my first four teeth I think). Can it be that the white ones are not as strong as the metal ones, that's why he do not do white ones on molars? I think I have heard that.
Bottoms one would be full metal, he did not do white ones on that jaw - which is ok for me.

But I wonder what I should choose on my upper jaw (man, I’m I going through with this? ). They are all damon.
How are the white ones, easy to stain and to break? Like I can’t eat tacos, strawberries etc with them and need to avoid even more food?
Are there any difference on the brackets (size, shape etc)?


I can ask my ortho about this on my next appointment, but want to hear different opinions, especially from someone wearing braces.
What did you choose?

To show, or not to show?

I have the Damon clears, and I really like them. They are very comfortable, and not that noticeable. They are a lot smoother than the metal Damon's I have on the bottom arch. If your Ortho isn't charging more for them I'd definitely go for the clears!

I'm going for clear in the top front. They work a bit more slowly because they don't have the same ability to twist the tooth that metal has (ceramic is brittle not bendy)- but I'm ok with that because I'm just not ready to jump into all metal. Mine are regular ceramics though, not Damon. I think Damon brackets look even better in clear because you don't have the elastic ligatures to stain. I'd say go for it!

If it really doesn't work out I'll switch to metal during treatment, this kind of thing is included in my overall cost.

As has been said many times in many different topics, ceramic/clear brakets do not stain. Ligatures do stain. Damon/self ligating brakets do not have ligatures, so you don't have to worry about staining. Also, powerchains stain, if you ever get it. In this case, I advice to go with a silver one, since clear powerchains stain like hell. I have metal braces and silver powerchain is not really visible, but perhaps it will be with the clear brakets... Oh well, if you are not planning to spend most of your time in powerchains, not to worry.

Supposedly the newer clear brackets don't stain like the older ones did, but with the way I like tea and coffee, I'm just not willing to risk it.

I went all metal partly because of that and figured at 40, I may as just well go all in with metal and have fun with it. I'm not worried about keeping stuff hidden or subdued, but some folks are self conscious. Clear doesn't help much once power chains are in-play anyway, and most folks end up with them at some point.

Ultimately, it's all boils down to personal preference. Some folks would think I'm odd to have vetoed invisalign or the clear brackets, I prefer the metal.

Good luck, whatever decision you make should produce great results down the road! SMILE!

I have clear Innovation-C brackets on the top and metal ones on the bottom - I asked for it this way to save $$ because I'd read that the metal ones were cheaper and I figured the bottom teeth don't show as much. I'd never heard that about the metal kind working more quickly...hmmm...I wish I had asked my ortho that question! And I didn't end up saving THAT much $$, anyway - a couple hundred bucks.
Re: coffee - I drink a cup a day and I feel like it stains my teeth, rather than the braces themselves. I've never done any kind of teeth-whitening treatment, but I'm thinking after the braces come off, I will probably want to.

I got clear Damon braces a couple months ago. The clear Damon's are a bit larger than the metal ones. I've been very happy with them. I haven't seen any hint of staining and I don't anticipate that as a problem. My TMJ ortho specialist indicated that the clear Damon's were plenty strong for my needs. I do have metals on my back two molars. They don't show and my teeth are pretty small so the smaller metal work fine.

Thanks guys!

I think I might go for the clear ones but will speak with my ortho too. Don’t know if I want people see my braces or not.

I have Damon clear on my top front, and metal on the rest of my teeth. I agree the clear are smoother. The metal seem fairly sharp.

I have damon clear on my uppers and they are really nice, I think they are at or near the top of the different types of ceramic braces in terms of aesthetics. Of course they aren't invisible, but they are much less visible than metal. And, it's not so much that I want to hide that I have braces (that's impossible), they just look better to me because they blend in more to the tooth. They are a smidge bigger than the metal I have on my lowers, but it is a minor difference. Either way you are going to be fine though