Ceramic or cosmetic braces prior to oral surgery?

[tonightwefly]

Is it possible to get cosmetic braces during the orthodontic treatment period prior to orthognathic surgery?

I'll be getting braces soon and know surgery is in my future. When I last saw an orthodontist he flat out refused to give me lingual braces or Invisalign, saying he won't be able to do it in my case. I'm pretty sure his decision was particular to him and not all orthos will say the same. I just want to get clear or ceramic braces to avoid the metal mouth look I spent most of my teens being stuck in.

Can ceramic or cosmetic braces be used in most cases, barring the most extreme?

If so, how much more do such braces cost over traditional braces?

[Tobilei]

I can't answer all your questions but my ortho told me that invisalign isn't suitable for all cases (especially the more severe one's). I think the same is with lingual but I'm not sure because they weren't offered to me.

I chose to have clears. I believe that clear on top isn't a problem for anyone but some people still require metal on the bottom due to their bite and the possibility of chipping teeth. I was allowed to have clear on both, but most people don't see the bottom very often so it wouldn't have been too much of a big deal if I hadn't been able to.

Mine were about $380 more to have clear on top and $780 for clear on both above the cost of the metals.

[katsface]

Is it possible to get cosmetic braces during the orthodontic treatment period prior to orthognathic surgery?

I'll be getting braces soon and know surgery is in my future. When I last saw an orthodontist he flat out refused to give me lingual braces or Invisalign, saying he won't be able to do it in my case. I'm pretty sure his decision was particular to him and not all orthos will say the same. I just want to get clear or ceramic braces to avoid the metal mouth look I spent most of my teens being stuck in.

Can ceramic or cosmetic braces be used in most cases, barring the most extreme?

If so, how much more do such braces cost over traditional braces?

My ortho is putting on lingual braces on top with regular metal brackets on bottom prior to my SARPE surgery, and will leave them there for a later BSSO surgery. He does a lot of lingual braces, and is very comfortable treating cases with them. So, it may be possible that you can find an ortho who is willing to work with linguals for you.

As far as I've read, ceramic braces work exactly the same as metal ones. The only difference is if your bite might somehow damage the brackets as they are a little more delicate than metal braces. I've read some orthos tell people that ceramic brackets can't be used with the same force as metal braces, but then I've heard other people say that's hog wash and ceramics are just as capable in all cases. I have no idea which is correct, but be prepared to hear either claim from your ortho. Anyway, from what I can tell, if metal brackets will work for you, in most cases ceramics should be exactly the same.

Don't know the cost of ceramics over metal. Sorry. I didn't ask for an all metal quote, since I knew I was going with either lingual on top, or ceramic on top with metal on the bottom. I do know that getting the linguals on top vs. will cost me about $700 more than the ceramics on top.

Hope that helps!

[ReoSity]

Surgeons and orthos seem to prefer metal ones but they do ceramic too. My uppers are ceramic while my lower is metal. They cost a bit more, in my case it was 500 I believe although having ceramic lowers too would increase that.

[azjaw]

My orthodontist told me that metal braces are preferred for stability during surgery. Ceramic braces could probably still work but I don't think Invisalign would provide any stability. In my area Invisalign and standard braces cost about the same.

[asmileconnectsus]

I had ceramic braces up till right before surgery when they replaced the ceramic with metal in the places where the teeth would be rubber-banded for stability post-surgery. The ceramic were easy to keep clean, and weren't as visible as regular braces in person or in pictures. By the time I had the metal ones on I didn't care what they looked like any more because I was having double jaw surgery...I figured having a much needed surgery outweighed the beauty of the brackets. Best Wishes!