which is best clear braces bottom and top or just on top?

[ajs604]

Hi I am due to get braced soon to treat my open bite. I am worried and very conscious of the fact that I will be wearing braces for nearly two years. I thought about having clear on top and metal bottom ones. I have a job whete i talk alot and am very shy and reserved. Is it best that I get clear on both? Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

[NeilH]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You will read a wide variety of opinions from many people and this is both great and adds to any uncertainty. I have found it useful to seek plenty of facts about the benefits of different brackets, elastics etc and used this, along with advice from my orthodontist to come to a decision on what I'm going to go with (starting on Friday!). Both metal and clear have their advantages and disadvantages but overall they both achieve a similar result so your decision may just come down with whatever you are most comfortable with. Some people with clear brackets state they wished they had gone with metal once stiffer wires, various extras and discoloured elastics result in a more visible appliance but then again, many clear bracket wearers remain happy in their choice throughout.

By and large, other people don't really show any interest in what you have so it will probably remain a personal choice! Whatever you decide to do, be happy with your decision and remember it is a means to an end. Good luck.

[bmueller]

It partially depends on what type of clear braces your ortho will use. Mine uses self ligating ones so each tooth still has a metal look in addition to the wires.

If you want it to be less visible in pictures, I reccomend the clear. Either clear or metal, people will be able to see it when you're talking in person.

I also agree that when you have clear and elastic o-rings, the o-rings get stained very easily and makes them more visible. If you have metals, you can always go with grey o-rings for a less visible look.

[safetysquirrel]

Hey!

That's really going to be a personal decision I gave salon self litigating braces with clear brackets on my top 10 and all metal on the bottom.

People will notice regardless, but not many people gave said anything about my clear uppers!

If you're in self litigating braces, you shouldn't have the O--rings around your brackets, so there isn't anything to stain. I've been pretty fearless with food and haven't managed to stain my clear brackets yet (knock on wood!).

[MrsCharisma]

My ortho (and many others' on the board) doesn't do ceramic on the lowers.

I have ceramic on top with pearl (white/clear) ligs. I have metal on bottom with grey ligs (Just got the lowers last week). The metal brackets are WAY (WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!) smaller than the ceramics. It's crazy. They're at least half the size. So there's less bulk. They are pretty and shiny and yes, more noticeable I have to be very careful about what I eat (nothing red or orange, coffee through a straw, no tea, etc) or else my ligs take on a gross hue. The two days or so before an adjustment I go crazy because I know they're getting changed.

It took awhile for people at work to notice my uppers and no one has noticed my lowers. Most of us don't really show our lower teeth much when we talk or smile. In photos taken from a normal distance, my uppers are fairly invisible. It'll be fine!

photo.JPG

[furious george]

Mine look almost exactly like MrsCharisma's. I have smoke powerchains on top right now.

I'm happy with them this way, you can hardly see them in pictures. But I'll say I was really self conscious about them for probably the first 3-6 months, and now I'm so over it I wouldn't care if they were all metal.

I'm debating on just throwing caution to the wind and having her do bright pink powerchains next time I go in. You care more than other people do, I promise.

[MrsCharisma]

You care more than other people do, I promise.

Fact!

I read a lot here before getting mine, and people are really concerned about the affect the braces will have...but people really don't care! You'll probably hear lots of war stories from people about their first go 'round as teens. Just pat yourself on the back that you're doing something for yourself, that will make you happy!

[Ciara]

Whatever your ortho prefers to work with is probably the best choice. I have ceramic uppers and lowers with metal ties. My ortho can shave down ceramic brackets so that upper teeth don't hit them and get chipped-a danger with lower ceramic brackets if you have a deep bite. However, I have metal brackets on my molars (and they are the only ones to have come off!).

[ajs604]

Hi,

Thanks guys for all the positive advice, its much appreciated. I guess I am just slightly nerveous as this is my first time being 'braced'. I realise though that two years is not very long and hopefully I will have a great smile afterwards and boosetd confidence!

[flips712]

I have all ceramics (made by Invue) on the top and bottom teeth that you can see when you smile. The rest of my back teeth have metal brackets. Two years will go by faster than you think. The first week or two is an absolute nightmare where you'll likely be regretting your decision to get braces and will consider returning to the Ortho to have them removed PRONTO!! But trust me it WILL get better and before you know it you'll completely forget you're even wearing braces. Once you get to that point the months will just start flying by.

I don't regret getting ceramics, however if I could do it again I'd probably just do all metal because the brackets are smaller and they are a bit cheaper than ceramics. Plus since I'm wearing colored ligs I may as well have just gone for the metal ones since my braces are anything but discrete looking with bright teal power chains.

[Cowans2]

I got ceramic uppers on my front four teeth (upper canines are baby teeth so not braced). They do look more discreet but I have open coil wire springs over both canines to next tooth so it kind of defeats the purpose. Still glad I got the clear uppers.
I have metal lowers. My ortho doesn't do ceramic lowers so there wasn't a choice.

[rhibee83]

I have all metal and I am glad I went all metal. I have only had them for a month, but as I wear silver jewellery they go well with me and I dont have a problem with them

Sometimes I even think they actually look ok! (apart from my huge extraction holes! lol)

and as the others have posted, no one will care about your braces, the most you get is "oh braces cool, i had those when i was younger" etc and then no one will give a rats about them lol.

so its your choice metal are smallar than ceramic and not as bulky. I asked about ceramic and my ortho didn't like to work with ceramic, so i just went all metal and yeh, i am happy

[Tobilei]

I have Damon clear self ligating on the top (they don't have any metal) and 3M Clarity on the bottom which have ligatures. I currently have a grey powerchain but I usually use smoke ligatures. This is the grey powerchain:


With the smoke coloured ligatures:

When I talk you can definitely see my bottom row which is why I decided to go all clear. The top don't stain no matter what and I haven't tried curry but I've had no problems with the smoke coloured ligatures staining with tomato soups and sauces, carrot juice etc.

I do have metal brackets on my back molars (I think that's standard) and at the moment I have some extra hooks on my wire to help bring my molars in (you can see those in the top picture). Even with all the extra metal in my mouth I had someone tell me yesterday they'd not noticed my braces. It's moments like that that make the extra cost worth it to me.

I don't mind seeing metal in others mouths. I guess you just have to decide whether you'll be happy seeing metal in your mouth or not. I also found that asking my ortho which brackets they used helped me make a decision as did going in and taking a 2nd look at the model they had in the office and comparing it to the metal model.

Good luck with your decision. It was one of the toughest I've made. I don't regret my decision at all.

[Zcooke]

[quote="Tobilei"]The top don't stain no matter what and I haven't tried curry but I've had no problems with the smoke coloured ligatures staining with tomato soups and sauces, carrot juice etc. [/quote]

I have Damon Clear on top and bottom too and was very apprehensive about staining (I drink alot of coffee and smoke) I did think they were staining at first but turns out I was not cleaning them properly. You really need to get in behind the brackets.
Now that I have the hang of it I'm delighted with my decision to go Clear.

[ajs604]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for all your advice! Its great having a resource like this which you can use to get in touch with people all going through the same thing. Orginally I was thinking of going clear on top and metal on bottom. But having resorted to looking at myself in the mirror last night whilst talking (sad I know), I am going to get clear on uppers and lowers as I personally feel I will feel a bit more relaxed and comfortable. I know that each persons preferance is different my mind is made up! Thanks again everyone!