Ceramic are weaker than metal brackets?

[daxlo5]

I hope it's not weaker! hahahah, i have ceramics on my upper!

[sirwired]

Remember there is a difference between Canadian Currency and US currency. Isnt $9000 Canada about the same as $6000 US? Havent traveled there in a while so not sure what the exchange rate is.

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Nope; they are pretty much "at parity" right now; the Canadian Dollar has been rising.

[oldfart]

Good Job Canada.

[isthistaken]

Maybe somebody didn't tell Alberta?

[Tobilei]

I hope it's not weaker! hahahah, i have ceramics on my upper!

You'll be fine! I have them top and bottom like I said and no problems

[rhibee83]

I am all traditional metal braces and I dont mind them. I asked about ceramic and my ortho doesn't have a high opinion on them and told me that my treatment would take longer if I went with ceramic and that they are bigger brackets and yes not as strong and can pop off the tooth easily. In saying that, alot of people on here have ceramic and haven't had any problems at all with them, only the bracket being bigger. I went with traditional metal cos these days they are smaller, and I wear silver jewellery anyway so its kinda works I paid $6900 for those, i could of got ceramic for an extra $200 but decided not to. I am happy with my full metal mouth (so far lol)

[ST24085]

Ug. It was kinda a deal breaker for me to not have them as inconspicuous as possible. Some of the pics I've seen online you can't hardly even tell with the clear/ceramics.

Maybe that's gonna go out the window lol. It's just... Three years in braces. Man. Hard to swallow.

[rhibee83]

i think either way people will notice. I have seen some people with ceramic end up with metal/silver archwire and I think they look nice, dont get me wrong! but you will notice them whether they are ceramic or metal to be honest. Although, in photos, you can't really see ceramic ones that well! but as I said, i dont mind my metal ones

[zdenka]

Thanks for all the responses people.


City?

Calgary

[xuxa]

I had the 'clear' brackets and I had a lot of issues. Few if them kept popping off my teeth until they were replaced with metals. I did not have issues with all of them so I did not have to replace all of them. I have to brace myself because my bite was not really properly corrected or perhaps it shifted. This time ll get them all metals.

[Angel269]

I had ceramic uppers, with coated archwire too. I only ever had one come off in my 9 months of treatment that was the day after and it was a premolar and when he went back he reckons it just hasn't bonded properly. For me I felt that ceramics were the only way I was going to do this and many never even noticed them at all!

[Matilda]

My dentist and orthodontist told me that ceramic braces are way weaker than metal braces.

[DrJasonKTam]

The issue of weakness is an interesting one.

With them metal brackets, if you bite on them with enough force, the entire bracket will fall off rather than a piece of metal coming off. For the ceramics, it is possible for the bracket to stay bonded to the tooth with pieces of the wings where the elastics are tied to come off. If you are very careful, there is no need to worry about the strength of the brackets because they are strong enough.

That being said, the case in the original post is about surgical orthodontics. These cases cost more than traditional cases because of the work up and need for extra visits surrounding the surgery. During the surgery, the oral surgeon is working in a very small space and would likely not see if a piece of the ceramic bracket broke off during the operation. As patients are put to sleep, the last thing that one would want is to aspirate a piece of the bracket. For surgical patients, we do advise metal braces for this reason, but some patients still opt for ceramic with the knowledge of the potential risk.

[MrsCharisma]

I think that people take the "weaker" comment a bit out of context.

There are all manner of steel out there and some stronger than other. (I have about 4 metallurgy books on my desk right now! - I'm a chemist and work at a forensic engineering firm. I see so many material failures daily that it's scary!!!) Most metal braces are *probably* made of a 304 stainless steel material while "clear" braces are made of ceramic.

Yes, steel is stronger than ceramic. There. LOL!

Not that ceramic is automatically inferior to metal braces -- but depending on your treatment, ceramics may not be best. And yes, they ARE bulkier (I have ceramic uppers and metal lowers). Are the ceramics "invisible"? Nope. But I think if you ask most braces wearers once they're in them...it doesn't even matter. The apprehension usually occurs before getting braced and through the start of treatment.

(edited for typo)

[quentin]

I'm on the Damon system and have ceramic uppers and metal lowers. My ortho was candid about preferring to work with metal brackets because metal = more pliable than ceramic, therefore logically there's less possibility of breakage, and easier to debond. He did not offer Damon Clears (ceramic) on the bottom teeth because due to my underbite, the ceramic brackets could chip my upper teeth. He did concede that most patients who abide by the advice not to chomp on hard foods etc don't have issues with breakage.

I'm 5 months in and have no issues with the durability of my ceramic brackets. Have no broken anything, neither ceramic nor metal, nor wires/appliances.

I agree with above post that after you have braces, it really doesn't matter THAT much whether it's clear or metal (seems crazy, right?). That said, I am very pleased with my ceramic uppers, because most people don't notice the braces at all. When I ask for less ice in my drink at Starbucks because my teeth are sensitive due to braces, the barista almost always go, "Wow I didn't even notice your braces!". Works great when being photographed too, because, save for close-up pictures, the ceramic braces aren't noticeable in photos.

I paid $3900 for Damon Clear uppers, metal lowers, and includes retainers at the end of treatment. I'm in Los Angeles, which, thankfully is a very competitive market, which drives prices down. You could seek a second (or third) opinion to compare prices, and of course, find an ortho you're truly comfortable with. Good luck!