Metal Mouth Message Board

Doctor Randall,
I have noticed that all of the ortho's I have gone to for an exam have always tried to talk me into getting ceramic braces only on the top teeth and get metal on the bottom. Why do they all try to sell me on getting half ceramic and half metal? Is it alot simpler to work with metal braces than ceramic ones?

Thanks,
john_doe

I'm not the doctor, but I did ask my ortho the same question. He said he'd only do the ceramics on top because once the top teeth have come into the correct position, they have a tendency to rub on and loosen the bottom ceramics. He said he'd done top and bottom for a while, but that it was a disaster with patients returning almost constantly for repair. The metal ones seem to bond better to the teeth, I guess.

Also, the ceramics are more expensive where I am - so it's cost prohibitive to do both - especially since you rarely see the bottoms.

Hope this helps (and that I'm on the right track with this answer)...

I said to my ortho that I only consider bottom and top ceramics...and that's it. I have what I wanted (of cource it cost more).
But I am glad for the choice

I've got top ceramics and metal lowers because that's what my doctor recommended. I think it makes sense really because my ceramic brackets are quite alot larger than the metal ones and my lowers are a little crowded.

Hiya,

My ortho has put ceramics on the top and I'm gettign metal on the bottom.

He said the brackets for ceramics are quite a bit bigger and so they are harder to work for small bottom teeth plus they can chip etc if you catch them with your top teeth. Also he said because my bottom teeth require more work than the tops due to crowding and overlapping, the metal brackets are stronger and so the treatment would be faster than having ceramics on the bottoms.

Seeing how big the ceramic brackets are on my top teeth I'm glad I'm getting smaller metal ones on the bottom, plus you don't really see my bottom teeth so it's no big deal.

Chocoholic got it exactly right. They are bigger and may actually cause damage to the top teeth during treatment. That is because the ceramic is much harder than the tooth so the tooth will wear or chip if they come in contact. Metal bracket will actually wear down before the tooth will.

Most patients do not show their lower teeth when they smile so the additional esthetic benefit is very minimal. I personally will not place lower ceramic brackets on a patient and no other doctor in my area will either (for the same reasons). It may be denying patients a choice, but it is in everyone's best interests.

Randall

Thanks for all of the awnsers. I wasn't even considering metal on the lowers , but now I might end up going that route.

John_doe

Also, I was told that when they remove the lower ceramics, the teeth would chip and even break because of the force used to remove the ceramics. Believe me, after getting my ceramic TWISTED and SNapped off the top, i'm sooooooo glad i had mentals on the bottom.