Metal Mouth Message Board

Greetings!

My ortho agreed to give me the social six for free (ceramic) on top, but
for many reasons I'm leaning towards metal. He said he doesn't want me
to get metal and then regret it...

I know we have alot of dialogues on here on metal vs. ceramic, so I don't mean to start another one of those threads, but is there anyone here
who got metal and regretted it and wished they had ceramic (or actually even changed)?

thanks!

*aka

OK, so I don't have braces yet to speak from experience, but here's my two cents worth...

Maybe the ortho is used to people who used to get upset with metal, so now he thinks everyone would, of course, want ceramic. My question is, who's to say that if you got ceramic you wouldn't have regrets, too? Ceramics bring no guarantee of hapiness, so if you want metal, I say go for it.

I am curious, though, if you are over 20 or not. Maybe some people think it is OK for an ortho to tell someone in their teens "no, you don't really know what you want" (which it isn't OK anyhow)but it is really inappropriate when the patient is older than the ortho!

If you have picture capabilties, I look forward to seeing metal all the way!

There's nothing wrong with either choice: but make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. For example, metal being stronger (in some cases) is a good reasons. Metal-not-staining is not a good reason (as it's a fallacy).

I have ceramics and am very happy with them. I think however that as time goes by, you care about your braces less and less, and whether they "show" or not. You really stop caring what other people think, because they're your teeth, and you are the one who is going to end up with a beautiful smile.

I agree with weird_wired....and I really don't think that most people seriously regret either choice. I thought I would regret my choice to do all metal, but I took one look in the mirror and thought, "Okay, there are braces on my teeth...Big deal." I'm pretty sure I would've thought the same with ceramics.

It's important to remember you're not necessarily locked in to either choice. My ortho told me I can always switch to the ceramics if at any point having metal bothers me. And I might, if I'm really tired of metal in a year ....but I think they look kinda cool so far.

I had all metal and never regretted it for a second. I loved them! I've had a bit of relapse in the 18 months they've been off (yes, I'm wearing my retainers all the time) and if I get them put back on I'll go for metal again.

Kevin

Im only 18 so kind of young in comparison to most, whom im sure are young at heart. I have all metal braces on top and bottom because that is whats avalible and im going to university in a few months i dont really care about people noticing my braces. I've always hated my goofy teeth and im glad there being fixed and ceramics are less noticable from further away but when your talking one on one with someone there gonna notice them whatever type of bracket you have.

Its got alot to do with what you feel comfortable with, if your not very confident id say go for the ceramics and if your feeling brave you can always get coloured ligs put on. Another thing to consider is that metals tend to be stronger so if theres alot of pulling to do metals will stand up to it better.

Whatever type of braces you choose the first few days with them you'll look really strange especially to yourself, you have to get used to your new smile.

My personal feeling is braces are braces... none of them are invisible so you just go with which ones you can live with. I have full metal and I just turned 50.....no big deal at all having metal..they are smaller too than the clear ones and from what I understand more comfortable.

HI there,

I wanted Ceramic but the doctor only uses damon braces. I was really sold on the damons although everyone says it is just marketing hype. I think if my ortho offered the social 6 to me now I would jump on it. After all I am a gemini and get very bored with just about everything! I wore the same hairstyle for many years and recently changed it. What was I thinking?


Anyway, I think because I sort of had my heart set on ceramics in the beginning is why I would change. Also it would be kind of fun to be able to have both to see the differences.

My experience is similar to jcdamon3's. Ortho sold me on Damon 3s for various reasons, even though I wanted clear or ceramic. It's true that the Damons are half clear, but they're still really obvious.

This is how I deal with it: I don't like the way they look, but I don't really have to spend much time looking at them. How my braces look to someone else is their problem. So any advantage in speed or comfort was worth it to me, since that was what would actually be MY experience.

Here it he low down.

*** Get what you want!! ***

Metal / Ceramic blah blah blah... You'll hear lots of posts on this.

IMO ( I'm not a doctor / dentist / ortho ) Ceramic was developed for purely asthetic reason. Guess what, most often you get charged more for it. What do you think they did before ceramic? You guessed it, they used metal. Just ask your ortho if either one is best for your treatment.

32, all yes, all metal.

- Missing Tooth -

For purely aesthetic reasons, I would have preferred ceramic. But they were more expensive and my ortho suggested they would be less comfortable then my Damons, so I had no problem deciding against ceramics.

I got metal braces and have been happy with them. My ortho never really gave me the option of choosing from the two. I found out later that they were more expensive so I am glad with my decision. If you feel that you might be self-conscious during your treatment, then ceramics is the way to go.

I wanted ceramics, but my ortho basically told me I couldn't get them. I have a pretty severe overbite and overjet, and he said that he could pull my teeth back with lots of elastics without having to use headgear - But because of all the pressure he would put on my teeth, he was afraid that the ceramics wouldn't hold up over the course of my treatment, which is 30 months.. Hence all metal. I really don't mind them, though. The brackets are SO much smaller than they used to be.. I don't have anything in particular either as far as I know, just plain metal brackets.

When I started to think about it and do my research, I probably would've gotten metal anyway when it was all said and done. The metal brackets are smaller (the ones at my ortho anyway) than the ceramics, and I wanted the least amount of discomfort possible..

It's all personal preference - Go with what you and, most importantly, your ortho feels most comfortable with. Your ortho knows what will be most effective with your teeth.. And what he/she can most effectively work with! Good luck!