Best lig colours?

[jenna88]

Hello, I am 26 and getting my braces fitted on April 7th and after much thought I have decided to go with all metal. I want to have a bit of fun with ligs and was wondering which colours keep there colour "fresh" the longest? If you have had any disasters with certain ones staining or looking a bit yuck I would appreciate your comments. Thanks

[wmd]

How fun!! I have had ceramics on top and bottom since Nov. 2014 & I've also had 2 adjustments after the first initial fitting and I started with clears all around which was pretty boring. The second ones were light blues on top with rainbow on the bottom which was my favorite so far! I had chosen craziness on the bottom because you can't see them there unless I show people. I know no-one else will probably like them as bold as me but I had a lot of colors with the rainbow one and got to see them all side by side. The best ones for me were dark teal and red despite them not being my favorite colors. pinks held up pretty well as well as the light blue ones. Purple and bright green did pretty good too. I hated the yellow, orange and clears. They went from vibrant to blah spaghetti stains on Tupperware looking after half-way through or less. I now have clears on top (won't do that again because they were orange after a week) with watermelon on the bottom (G,G,Y,R,B,R,B,Y,G,G). The black are of course are unchangeable in color and the others except the yellow are just fine. Next, I will be doing light blue on the full top which is my favorite color yet because they make your teeth look way whiter, and I'll be doing black on the full bottoms. I do wish though that for the watermelon I would have chosen ( G,G,Y,P,P,P,P,Y,G,G ) instead but I think I'm going to retire the idea. Good luck!!

[jaime]

Congrats and good luck on your imminent bracing!

Hopefully you have your expander out by now? Those things suck.

I have ceramic on my upper front 6 teeth and metal for the rest. I always do fun colours on the bottom. I find I prefer the darker colours (red, hunter green, dark blue, dark purple) because they stand out more and don't stain. Right now I have alternating red and pink for Valentine's Day. I love having seasonally-themed braces but I am also a dork so there's that.

[jenna88]

Congrats and good luck on your imminent bracing!

Hopefully you have your expander out by now? Those things suck.

I have ceramic on my upper front 6 teeth and metal for the rest. I always do fun colours on the bottom. I find I prefer the darker colours (red, hunter green, dark blue, dark purple) because they stand out more and don't stain. Right now I have alternating red and pink for Valentine's Day. I love having seasonally-themed braces but I am also a dork so there's that.

Nope the expanders still hanging on in there, it's giving an anchor point for my impacted canine. I quite like the look of the light pink and purple colours are they any good or do they go a bit blah after a few colourful meals?

[Melusine]

Here are a few things my ortho and his assistant told me. I paid for the ceramics on top so those are white.

1) The clear wire that some individuals use just doesn't seem to be as durable as the regular grey metal one. This was a bummer to me. The office prefers to use a regular metal grey wire, but they do offer a white wire alternative. However, because everyone has different variations in tooth color (even tooth to tooth), the white wire can look worse against the teeth. That can cause a lot of complaints in regard to cosmetic appeal compared to the regular grey wire.

2) From my own personal experience, clear ligatures and power chains looked pretty nice - until I missed an appointment or ate something that stained my teeth. I am a water drinker, avoid mustard / yellowish foods, and don't eat anything like curry on a regular basis. When I had my braces on the first time, I came in every 4 weeks like clock work. That meant my clear bands were changed very often. However, it only took 1 time of me eating curry and having severe staining to come in and ask to change those stupid ligatures. I was much happier and less paranoid in a grey ligature. In the end, if you come in frequently and have a diet like myself, it is possible to get through with a clear ligature. But by the end of my first set, I had changed to grey on a regular basis. One episode of having bright yellow power chains was enough for me (as a young female). I was almost scarred for life... LOL!

3) My current doctor schedules me every 6-8 weeks. I did pinks at Christmas break because I wasn't teaching (yup, I have to be in front of people). My appointment was right after Valentines, so I knew / thought I could make it that far. I did pretty well, but these pink bands broke TWICE, causing me to come in and have them changed. I switched back to grey this time. I feel like the grey blends in very nicely with the metal wire. I can't tell that there are any problems, even if I go towards the 8 week mark.

4) I have to use latex free ligature jaw bands (is that what they are called?) so mine are always clear, which I like.

This combo seems to work well for me, especially as I get older. You might find something different.