Need suggestion on Lig colors for Clear Ceramic brackets

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#1 Post by **Spooky** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:47 pm

I have upper clear ceramic brackets and want to find a lig color that won't stain. I want the color to be subtle but can't keep on choosing the tooth-colored or clear ones because I drink coffee and dark tea.

Any suggestions? Unfortunately, my ortho don't have that many color choices. So the more suggestions, the better! Just in case he doesn't have the 1st choice, I still have a back up!

THANKS!

#2 Post by **Rebraced** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 2:28 am

If you don't want to worry about stains ask for Wire Ties as they can't stain. I just got a light grey power chain just like Meryaten said and so far no staining and it is hardly noticable with clear brackets.

#3 Post by **arnette** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 7:31 am

How do you find your ceramic brackets so far (comfort, noticability, etc)? I'm thinking about starting my second attempt at braces at age 28 and I'm trying to find out all I can about ceramics. Thanks!

#4 Post by **Spooky** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:33 pm

Thanks for suggestions. I think I'll try the light gray ligs when I go in for my adjustment on Monday. I hope my ortho has them.

Meryaten Thanks for your link. I enjoyed looking at the different color combinations. But I am never going to be that brave!! I still want my braces to be unnoticeable, if at all possible...

Arnette Ceramics are nice if you want to hide your braces. Most people didn't know that I had braces on until they got really close. But the ligs stain and can be a drag. For the most part they are also very comfortable. But I actually got pretty big ceramic brackets because my teeth are big. good luck!

Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:08 am

I like the color orange......Has anyone had orange and does it look okay. Orange is my fav. color and I figure I will have orange alot.

#6 Post by **arnette** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:51 am

Yeah, I have fairly big chompers as well. Ceramics are what I'm really looking towards so it just depends upon how my ortho is willing to work finance with me.

As far as staining... what's really bad when it comes to stained ligs? I'm not a big coffee or tea drinker but I imagine the culprits would be:
tea, coffee, curry sauce, dark cola drinks... what else? I'll do a search...

In regards to wire ties, how do they work vs. ligs and do most orthos have that as an option?

thanks guys!

#7 Post by **weird_wired** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:49 am

Orange would be a great colour, because yellow stain is unlikely to show on it.

I recommend choosing a deep, dark orange, as from a distance, a light or yellow orange may look like really yellow teeth (unless you alternate it with another colour).

#8 Post by **Jodster** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:03 pm

a color that works very well for staining is called smoke. It looks grey, but when stretched onto brackets is almost clear, and they resist staining.

#9 Post by **Snow** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:58 pm

I have ceramic both top and bottom, and I don't think I will choose any color other than smoke for the rest of my treatment. I don't like people noticing my braces, so colorful ligs are out of the question. I drink moderate coffee and coke. So far the smoke ligs withstand stains pretty well.

#10 Post by **nvcarissa** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:39 pm

I started out with ceramic on the top six teeth and metal the rest of the way. I never got used to the size of the ceramics and dealing with stained ligatures drove me absolutely batty...I drink black coffee...lots of it. So about three months into my treatment I had the ortho remove the ceramics and went all metal. I haven't regretted it for a minute. They are half the size of the ceramics and I really like how the colors look against them. Right now I have deep blue ligs. I have had light pink and dark pink as well. I liked the dark pink the best so far.

#11 Post by **Spooky** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:45 pm

Back from my 2nd adjustment and my ortho didn't have the smoke nor the light gray ligs!! I was so disappointed. I end up getting the the bone-colored ones, which I think will still stain like mad. My next adjustment is not until 9 weeks later, so I will have a tough time maintaining the ligs to be stained-free.

So about three months into my treatment I had the ortho remove the ceramics and went all metal.

Just wondering if your ortho charged you to have the ceramic brackets changed to metal.

#12 Post by **ClassicFairlane** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:21 pm

I was going absolutely crazy trying to keep the clear ligs.....clear. The answer is....you can't. There's no way to keep them from staining. I was brushing 4-5 times a day, many times using peroxide and baking soda. I was even eyeing the bottle of clorox in the laundry room....hey, desperation makes you do very crazy things. Like you, I drink dark coffee. But not only does dark coffee stain the ligs, so does red wine, mustard, cranberry juice, orange juice, egg yolk..... the hygenist told me today (because I was in such a bad mood about it) that even if I didn't indulge in those things, the ligs would stain anyway.....which didn't make me feel better about the situation. Long story short, I was going to insist on having the dentist replace the ceramics with metal. I just couldn't see myself being so unhappy & disgusted.

My dentist understood that I didn't want "bold" colored ligs. He gently suggested that I try silver/grey for a few days and assured me that they wouldn't stain. We also agreed that if after a few days I was still unhappy, he would switch the brackets to metal. I have to say that even though I've barely had them for 4 hours (upper & lower) I LOVE THEM. They are very subtle, with a hint of shimmery color, very complimentary with the metal wire. I can now enjoy & savor my coffee, instead of feeling guilty knowing that I'd have to pay a price later. The real test will come in the next couple of days, to see exactly how the coffee will affect the powerchain & ligs.

Hope this helps...........

#13 Post by **blaat** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 3:14 pm

I strongly recommend 'wire ties'. They come in white and wont stain at all, and i know because i'm a smoker (i know... bad!)

#14 Post by **Veruka_Salt** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 11:44 pm

Well, after having ceramic brackets for 15 months and getting the pearl-coloured ligs every time, I finally lashed out at my last adjustment and got aqua on the bottom. It's nice!!

I've decided that I'll go for a fully coloured mouth at my final adjustment. I just don't think I could do it all the time... no-one would take me seriously!