Ceramic braces?

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#1 Post by **ssrawr1** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:26 pm

I'm supposed to be getting ceramic braces on my social six next week, with metal everywhere else. Thing is i'm kind of having second thoughts. Will they be easily noticeable? Should I just go with all metal?

Any thoughts at all would help. Thanks. (:

#2 Post by **blackapple** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:30 pm

I am having second thoughts about my ceramic uppers. Finding them so hard to get used to. It's only been five days. I figure out of fairness I will try to make it to week two. If I still hate them I will talk to my ortho about paying for the metal uppers.

They stick out so much further and are really irritating my upper lip. I am used to the bottom metal already because they are so much smaller and comfortable IMHO. Just wanted to relay my experience. Yours may be different.

#3 Post by **yoginbraces** » Sun Aug 22, 2010 2:51 pm

I've had ceramic braces since May and at first I hated them -- I thought they were big and ugly but now I LOVE them, especially now that my teeth are getting straight. I believe the straighter your teeth get the nicer ceramics appear. They just sort of blend in with your teeth after a while and most people either don't notice them or comment how good they look. What I believe people are actually noticing are my teeth straightening out and with ceramics I think it's just more noticeable than with metal (if that makes any sense)

Anyway, I'm so happy with my decision to get ceramics.

#4 Post by **hal2me** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:18 am

Hello!

I have ceramic braces and I love them! They are hardly noticeable. It took my co-workers two weeks to notice I had braces. The only downfall is the white/clear ligatures. They stain fairly easy and you need to watch what you eat.

Good luck!!

#5 Post by **abaglady** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 12:47 pm

Hi,

I have self-ligating ceramics on the tops and 'traditional' ceramics with clear ligs on the bottom. I agree with other people who have posted that the ceramics are vastly less noticeable, and that benefit outweighs the slightly increased discomfort of slightly bigger brackets.

However, I think it depends on what your teeth look like as to how noticeable they are. Unlike hal2me, quite a few people have noticed mine. However, anyone who has noticed has made positive comments and I am glad overall that I don't have a very metallic smile.

The worst bit is the ligs staining (looking forward to getting them changed soon) - luckily only a problem on the bottom and my bottom teeth don't show much when I talk/smile etc.

Blackapple: Stick with it - you do get used to them, but it takes time. I am possibly slower than others in doing so, but after about a month I was OK with them. both top and bottom arch has irritated me at some point but I really don't regret getting them over metal. Good advice is to stay well hydrated, use loads of lip balm, and I use bonjela at night sometimes if irritated (dental anaesthetic gel - don't know where you are - it's a UK product, but there will be equivalents elsewhere if not the exact thing). Also have been known to make a sort of 'braceguard' out of orthodontic wax on those occasions when it's getting on my nerves - sometimes do this at night after cleaning teeth as it helps to give my mouth a break, but just use a little bit on the parts that are sticking in to your upper lip. I do sympathise, because it can drive you nuts, and can't comment re what metal feels like, but I suspect it would also be quite annoying at first.

Good luck all!

#6 Post by **Justiz** » Mon Aug 23, 2010 1:09 pm

I have the ceramics on the top and I think they were more noticeable at first since I was having an overbite corrected and they sort of stuck out a bit, but now that the teeth are straighter it's a lot better. It also helps for pictures or social events so its not obvious from across the room that I have a brace face! I can at least ease into it instead of it drawing so much attention as having an all-metallic mouth.

As far as the ligatures what I have done is used the Pearl colored ligs since they are iridescent and resist stains a lot better than clear and white.

I guess it depends really on length of treatment and social situations what your preference is!

#7 Post by **Alleria** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:31 pm

I had way more problems with canker sores with the metal braces on my bottom teeth than I did with the ceramics on top. If I had to do it all over again, I'd still take ceramics on top even if they cost a little extra.