do ceramic braces take a lot longer?

[jazzyjazz]

hi everyone, just yesterday had my metal lower braces put on, next appointment will be going back to get my upper ceramics on, at my first consultation my orthodontist mentioned it would take longer with ceramic, if I had all metal he estimated 16 months. but the option I chose, metal lower ceramic upper will be more like 24 months!? does ceramic really slow down the treatment by 8 months??

any opinions or experiences please
thanks, jasmine

[chichi]

I've heard that ceramics can take a little longer, but 8 months sounds like a lot...

[plugnickel69]

I don't understand why there would be a difference other than cost. Ceramics these days seem to be as strong as metal. I believe that with ceramics it takes longer is an old wives' tale.

[sirwired]

I suppose ceramics might impose more friction on the archwire than metal, making the initial "line the teeth up in a pretty row" phase take a little longer, but eight months does seem more than I would expect.

[jazzyjazz]

thanks for replys
I think maybe he was trying to sway me towards metal for both for some reason..I will just expect 24 months and anything less will be a bonus i suppose

[plugnickel69]

My ceramics had a metal slot, so there was no difference in friction. Actually, there are times it seems to me that more friction would be positive and keep some gaps from forming.

[rowo]

My ortho said ceramics do create more friction. I have ceramics on my top front teeth, was using a ceramic(?white) archwire but he switched it to metal lately, saying it'll move the teeth faster. I don't really mind, it doesn't look too obvious, still glad I got ceramic brackets on uppers though as people don't seem to notice much.

[Matilda]

At my consultation my orthodontist told me that ceramic braces usually take 6 months longer.

[kathydell]

Weird. I had two consults and both said really no difference between ceramic and metal in terms of time but big difference in time between traditional braces in Invisalign with Invisalign taking about 6 months longer for me. The difference between metal and ceramic was more about cracking your top teeth on ceramic bottoms which is why a lot will recommend ceramic upper and metal lower if you want the ceramic. I promised to wear cushions to protect my top teeth so we went ceramic on both. My initial treatment estimate was 24 months and at my last visit it looks like I'm headed for 18 months. There was a slight price increase for the ceramics with both consults but marginally more expensive - not a lot.

[WiredOldLady]

I have ceramic on top and metal on the bottom and my ortho never said anything about ceramic taking longer. As a matter of fact, my upper teeth are looking like they are almost ready to be debraced (I know, I couldn't get that lucky). My bottom teeth, with the metal brackets seem to be taking longer but that could be because they were more messed up than my top teeth to begin with.

10 months to go I hope!!! Adjustment tomorrow.

[Chiharu]

I don't think that you can measure that. Maybe they take a little longer, but who knows. You won't think about that once you start wearing them.

[Shxyshun]

My ortho said 20 months estimated with full metal or 22 months with ceramic on top. He said he can't tighten ceramic as much as metal and needs to be more gentle on them. It's only two months though so I'm not too worried about it.

[braceyourself1988]

It's strange. I have heard some places that it does and I have heard some places it doesn't.

I have seen orthodontists on medical sites say they do take longer and some say they don't. I don't know if it's just a matter of opinion, or how the orthodontist is doing it or what brand they are using.

It's strange that there is a difference in opinion. Or maybe it's not weird.

[DrJasonKTam]

I have not noticed a difference with metal vs ceramic braces on our patients.

It is possible that some doctors are using SL brackets when metal and non SL brackets with ceramic. There should be no difference between SL metal and traditional either, but some doctors claim SL are faster. That is an entirely different point of debate (of which there is really no debate... there are no studies to show a difference!)

[roxie2519]

They all work the same way... Some dentist say it will take 16 months but you can never guess the actual time.. It could be more or less