New to braces

[akent597]

Hi everyone,

I am brand new to this board (this is my first post!) I'm 27 years old and have always hated my teeth. They're fairly straight (some minor crowding) but I have an overbite and overjet. I also have a partially impacted second molar which I believe the braces will help right into position.

After overcoming my fears, I am slated to begin orthodontic treatment next month. My orthodontist has recommended full upper and lower braces for ~2 years (with some kind of bite appliance to start). I will also need rubberbands and possibly springs over the course of treatment to correct my bite. I go in on Friday to have my records taken and spacers put in. The plan is for the braces to go on the following Thursday.

Now my big decision is ceramic (top only) or metal braces. Would love your advice. My ortho will use victory metal brackets or clarity ceramic brackets in case anyone has experience with that particular bracket type.

I am leaning toward metal right now (they're $700 cheaper and I have to get them on the bottom anyway). However, I work in business and go to lots of client meetings and am concerned how people will react.
Would love thoughts of folks on this board who are wearing metal braces and how they've dealt with them in a professional setting.

Thanks and will share pics of my pre-braces teeth soon!

[dtg0913]

I just got my top braces put on, August 22 and will have them for 6 months. I have had braces before when I was a teenager, but never wore my retainer, it broke after a while and financial issues I never got my front teeth bonded. I have tiny little teeth next to my canines. So, my teeth respaced and with my wisdom teeth being pulled the spaces are worse now. I have a permanent retainer on the bottom so my lowers haven't shifted and still look good. I opted for the clear brackets. My braces are the self ligating brackets so I don't have the ligatures which is the part of ceramic braces that can stain pretty bad and look yellow. I love mine. I feel like they aren't that noticeable unless you are upclose or I am talking to you face to face. I know this sounds bizarre but go look at yourself talking in the mirror. When I talk I can see my lower teeth much more than my top. I think the clear is a good investment for adults. It just makes sense to feel a tab bit less noticeable.

I am also new to the board so I don't know how to post pictures. But I will figure it out and reply with some pictures of mine.

[traintracks92]

I went with Damon clear braces on top and metal on bottom. Honestly, if I could go back, I would have just gotten the metal ones on top too. I only cared I had braces for about the first two days and then I was over it. The ceramic ones also stain a little so eventually they're less clear. I'm 10 months into my treatment and they're definitely not as white as they were when I first got them!

[Tyrantblade]

Braces aren't a big deal to most people, we care a lot more than others ever will.

We are the ones that have to deal with them, they don't so most of the time even if they do notice they don't even say anything.

Deciding on metal or clear/ceramic should be al about you, not others.

I went with all metal because to me having braces, even if they were obvious isn't a big deal.

And for the record only 2 people said anything until a few people saw me brushing my teeth at work, they asked how I like having them (just out of curiousity) and that was it.

If its a big deal for you whether your braces are more obvious, go with clear/ceramic, if not, save money and go for all metal.

[Jupiterxo]

I personally have Damon clear on my top eight teeth. It was supposed to be the top 6 but I asked for 8 and didn't have to pay any extra and that allows me to smile without seeing any metal brackets.

But here's the things, metal or clear, it's still obvious that they are braces and most people do not care whatsoever that you have them. I'm 26 years old and no one has ever said anything but platitude things about my braces so whichever you choose will be fine. Remember, it's only temporary.

[HummerMan3]

Welcome to the board, and congrats on starting your journey. With regards to bracket type, I ended up choosing metal for a number of reasons - cost, durability, lower profile, no need to worry about staining. But the main reason I went metal over ceramic was that it projects an image of "yes, I have braces and the confidence to wear a mouth full of metal as an adult" as opposed to trying to be more discrete and hoping no one notices. (Although I don't try to, I think I stare at people's teeth more when they have ceramic braces because initially I'm wondering whether they've got food in their teeth, then I realize they're braces and try to figure out what type of bracket it is lol)

[SinkFullOfDinner]

@akent597 - Part of my setup is what you discussed - Clarity top and Victory bottom. But I only have those from the canines going back on one side. The rest are lingual (I know, change of plans and kinda defeats the purpose of hidden...rrrrr). All I can offer is that I haven't noticed any difference between them in terms of irritation to cheeks/lips like some have discussed. For me, I'm really glad that the Clarity was used up top from an aesthetics point of view, but obviously that was a key consideration for me since I opted for linguals for everything else. The metal Victory ones on the bottom can't be seen with the way I speak/smile, so I don't really care one way or other about those. For me (and maybe just me) I didn't like the idea of having the Victory metal up top, but that's probably because I'm not as comfortable with the whole braces thing as many on the forum. What I have works fine for me, and I'm sure whatever you decide will work for you.

Good luck with the decision!