Metal Mouth Message Board

So I had my last meeting with my ortho today before surgery. 2 weeks after surgery (which is on 8/18 ) i get my braces put on. To say i have been dreading it is an understatement. But some good news (and turning out to be difficult) is that my ortho gave me options ::gasp!::. She told me that i could choose either Ceramic or Metal. It's going to be the same cost due to my insurance (yay!) but here are some of the pros and cons and i was wondering if some of you could weigh in on what you think. (let me know if there are other pros and cons i don't know about yet)

Metal: Pros, Move my teeth quicker, smaller in mouth, pretty colors (!); Cons, they are metal and more noticeable, they hurt more apparently

Ceramic: Pros: Less noticeable, less painful in mouth; Cons: Bulkier in mouth, move teeth slower, "slippery" (according to my ortho)

Both should give the same result but which will be better?!?! Sometimes choices are good other times they just make me more confused. Any help or advice is much appreciated!

Thanks!

Stef

Read my blog!:
http://bracingmyself.tumblr.com

I've had metal for 2 years.. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go for ceramic(and a different ortho, but thats another story).

I have upper ceramic and lower metal.

I notice no difference between the two except for the fact that the ceramic are less noticable on the teeth.

Oops, double post.

I had ceramics but they would not stay on due to the make up of my enamel (rare but not totally unheard of). After a year they were switched to metal. I find the metal much more comfortable than the ceramics. I guess you have to decide appearance or comfort. As it is, I don't think today's metals look nearly as bad as the metals that were in common use ten years ago.

I do not regret having metal instead of ceramics. I just wish I'd started out with metal. Oh yes, I would not change my ortho. I would my job, but that's another story.

Mike

hi, i have gold metal uppers and lowers. when i saw all four models of the teeth with braces, i just picked the smallest ones! i am a pain wimp!!

i drink one cup of coffee in the morning, and i just can't give it up, so i wasn't sure about the ceramic or the clear brackets and staining. i would have liked the top 6 (or in my case, 5) teeth done in something less shiny.

but, i think people are going to notice your braces (and not care about them) regardless of what kind they are.

I'm really glad that I have ceramics on top. Even though people can see them, they're barely visible in photos, so when I look back on this time, they won't be so obvious!

I have ceramic! I love them! I wish ceramics were offered back in the day when I had metals the first time!

Id say go for Ceramics! They dont cost that much I dont think. I live in NYC and people tend to charge outrageous prices for some strange reason...Id say go for it if you want to go unnoticable!

I was going to get ceramics, but when I got to the ortho I asked which ones they thought were more comfortable. One of the assistants had ceramics uppers and metal lowers, and she said she liekd the metal more. Also, another assistant said ceramics can be more difficult to remove because they can break. And they have white boards in the hall that patients can write on when they finish there treatment and a lot of people had written to get metal brackets. So, I went with metal and I've been happy with them so far.

I too have ceramics on top and metal on bottom. The ceramics are bigger but less noticable. I HATE the metal ones! They are sharp and are cutting into my lip and cheeks. My lower teeth are rather small and there is no way the ceramics would fit on my teeth. I just don't get why they seem so sharp to me!!!

Neither. Sapphire! (Inspire ICE), if that's an option for you.

I have them and think they're great. Esthetically they are better than ceramic, no problems with removal, Sapphire is harder than metal.
There should be no difference in treatment time between bracket types.

I have metal (Titanium Orthos) on the bottom. They are definitely rougher on the insides of the mouth, but it's not that bad.

I have ceramic uppers and bottoms. I love how they aren't noticeable. And ceramic doesn't stain. People are always saying how good they look or how they never notice my braces. I smiled proudly in photos and they are difficult to see. Never really had a problem with chafing.

With that the major con for me is brackets popped off as my teeth are fairly slippery. In 15 months I have lost about 9-10. I would say half of them were my fault while the others were random. Although, I will say in the last 6 months, ive only lost 2. I have friends who have had ceramics and said they never had this problem.

Also metal and ceramic braces will move teeth at about the same rate.

Ceramics are better!!!

I had a job interview and I was happy not to look like a teenager. In my opinion ceramics look more "mature".