Metal Mouth Message Board

I've got about 6 weeks left of treatment *fingers crossed*, but my ortho says to me it would have been over by now if I'd gone with metal rather than ceramic because ceramic have more friction.

I don't really understand this. Surely having more friction on the teeth means they would move quicker? Or have I misunderstood this?

I'm not sure of the friction aspect but I was told by my ortho that ceramic brackets extend treatment time. I didn't ask why though.

From what I can find "Metal braces often need less treatment time than ceramic braces. This is due to metal braces having less friction between the teeth and the wire — this means that the teeth are allowed to move into place more quickly than with clear ceramic braces."

LH2015 wrote:I've got about 6 weeks left of treatment *fingers crossed*, but my ortho says to me it would have been over by now if I'd gone with metal rather than ceramic because ceramic have more friction.

I don't really understand this. Surely having more friction on the teeth means they would move quicker? Or have I misunderstood this?

more friction is less movement. have had this issue myself due to the type of archwire they insist on using for my finishing.

Anywho, sounds like your ortho didn't go over everything with you, or maybe was in a mood. Were you trying to push things along lol?

If you only have 6 weeks left, and I am not saying you are complaining, that is wonderful. Make sure you are fully satisfied before debonding, discuss retention, and how they deal with follow up visits if you dont already know.

I would totally endure 6 extra weeks for ceramic braces!

jfriend33 wrote:

LH2015 wrote:I've got about 6 weeks left of treatment *fingers crossed*, but my ortho says to me it would have been over by now if I'd gone with metal rather than ceramic because ceramic have more friction.

I don't really understand this. Surely having more friction on the teeth means they would move quicker? Or have I misunderstood this?

more friction is less movement. have had this issue myself due to the type of archwire they insist on using for my finishing.

Anywho, sounds like your ortho didn't go over everything with you, or maybe was in a mood. Were you trying to push things along lol?

If you only have 6 weeks left, and I am not saying you are complaining, that is wonderful. Make sure you are fully satisfied before debonding, discuss retention, and how they deal with follow up visits if you dont already know.

I would totally endure 6 extra weeks for ceramic braces!

He just reminded me they would have been off by now if I had gone with metal. But ceramic was on 200 more than metal, so for the aesthetics, I went ceramic.

I understand the friction thing now. I thought he meant they had more friction with the teeth so they'd move faster. I am so happy with how they look. He is going to whiten them and even out one tooth that is a bit uneven at the bottom.

I believe, generally, that the friction between the wire and the slot impacts the "sliding mechanics." Metal has lower friction, but some ceramic brackets (like Clarity reinforced) have a metal-lined slot to get the same low friction. If your plan required a lot of sliding along the archwire (e.g. extractions), I would think that the sliding friction would come into play more. But I understand that sliding is also determined by things such as whether the bracket is tied or self-ligating, wire tied vs elastic ligs, figure-8 vs regular "O," coated/aesthetic archwires vs regular, etc., etc.

btw, if it only added six weeks and you were happy with the way they looked, it sounds like a good trade-off and you made a good decision for you. Bottom line is you're almost there and you're really happy with how everything looks! Congrats!