Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone!

I'm thinking on joining the forces of beautiful brace faces, but am a little bit confused with choosing the braces for the upper arch - thought you could maybe help me decide :)

I think I'd choose 3M's self-ligating metal braces for the bottom row, but for the top arch I'm thinking either 3M Unitek Clarity SL braces or non-ligating Clarity ceramic braces. As an adult I'd like the top braces to be as invisible as possible. Now, the decision would be easy if the Clarity SL brackets didn't show metal on the sides. The non-ligating Clarity ceramic ones seem to be less noticeable in that matter, but have the rubber bands that I'm not so fond of. Ugh, and it's a difficult decision considering that it would be for 2 or more years.

Perhaps someone here has had the chance to see both of them in real life and knows which one is less noticeable, bulkier, more comfortable, smaller? Or are you obliged to stick to the same type - SL - on both rows? What's your experience - are the metal sides on the otherwise clear Clarity SL brackets that disturbing and noticeable or it's really not an issue?

Would appreciate any advice!

You can certainly have different brackets on the top vs. bottom, if appropriate for your case. You can even have different brackets for the visible teeth vs. the invisible ones!

As far as Self-Ligating vs. regular braces? Ask your orthodontist the pros/cons. He may prefer one kind for your particular case, or he may charge more for self-ligating brackets.

I haven't seen the Clarity SL in person but I think the metal on them is minimal. I have Damon SL on the top and regular Clarity 3M on the bottom. I usually choose smoke ligatures which look clear but stain less. I had an emergency appointment this month and a different ortho (same office) put white one's on and they have stained a little. It's not horrendous though.

You can choose to get wire ties instead of ligatures. These won't stain but you will have a small amount of metal surrounding each bracket. That being said, I think the amount of metal on the SL one's wouldn't be any more noticable than wire ties and you have a metal archwire anyway (this is also very discreet, most people don't notice mine at all).

I would honestly opt for the SL one's, it's nice not to have to worry about what you eat and I really don't think you'll notice the little bit of metal once they're on.

I have ceramic upper (put on Nov.) and lower (put on earlier this month) brackets with metal ties. I didn't want ligatures that would stain with curry and coffee - can't live without either- so got the metal ties. The office manager at the uni where I work, didn't notice my upper brackets for 3 months. They are really not that noticeable unless you are standing right next to the person.

Hey, thank you all for your quick answers!! :) This feedback has definitely calmed me down about the Clarity SL ones and now I'm convinced that they're the right choice for the top arch. I bet it might seem a minor thing to many here, but I'm getting braces for the first time and I have no idea what to "really" expect. Excited on getting them on, but also afraid of the unknown!

Don't worry, we were all there once! I agonized for ages over whether to get clear or metal braces and then googling like mad the brands of brackets used and how they'd feel and look in my mouth etc etc.

My ortho only offered the Invue ceramic brackets, which require ligs or wire tires. I'm 33 and wanted the braces to be as discrete as possible.....or so I thought at first. I have top and bottom ceramic and initially got clear ligs. I drink tons of tea (thru a straw), an occasional coffee, and no curry. At my first 6 week adjustment the clear ligs looked pretty gross so I decided to just take the plunge and got bright pink ligs top and bottom. The ortho also put a few wire tires on some teeth.

Funny thing is that no one I work with even seemed to notice the colors. I absolutely LOVE the colored ligs and already have my next color picked out for my second adjustment in April - Teal. The colored ligs don't stain, however they do fade slightly depending on the color you choose.

Hi -

I think that basically all braces are noticeable. Yes the ceramics are less so than metal and I'm very happy I chose ceramic on top and kept metal for bottom only, but no matter what - you can still tell I have braces on my teeth and they are reasonably noticeable. I consulted with a few orthos - some used self ligating and some traditional brackets with ligs. The opening and closing of the doors on self ligating did not appeal to me and I'd heard that it was quite painful for some folks. I ended up choosing the ortho I was most comfortable with - so type of bracket did not alter my decision but now that I have the traditional brackets I'm glad I chose them. Changing of ligatures is a bit uncomfy at times but not horrible and it's FAST.

As for the ligatures (rubber bands) that go around each bracket, I wouldn't be too concerned about staining. I drink 2 cups of coffee a day and tomato sauce maybe once a week. They really do NOT stain as bad as I feared based on what others have mentioned. That said - mine are changed every three weeks as my Ortho likes to see me that often to change them and make adjustments. I get 'tooth colored' or 'ecru' ligatures on top rather then clear and I get gray or metal colored ligs on bottom.

I'm almost at the one year mark - and I'm thrilled with the choices I made, but as for type - self ligating vs. traditional brackets with ligatures, I don't think you will see much of a difference in appearance. I've seen them both and they look very similar.

Good luck on your journey!

I just got Clarity Advanced Ceramic Braces banded last week but in hindsight should've probably gone with the Clarity SL as the brackets are smaller and the metal is minimal. With the Clarity Advances Ceramic Braces - the colour doesn't match my teeth anyway so they're still visible. Oh well, it's the results that matter!

I don't know all the technical terms but mine are ceramic with bands that hold the wire in place - the bands stain, even when I'm really careful. A girl I work with has the ones without bands and she can eat curry and beetroot and drink tea without a second thought and it makes me really sad...go with the ones without bands!!!

Lauradarlin wrote:I don't know all the technical terms but mine are ceramic with bands that hold the wire in place - the bands stain, even when I'm really careful. A girl I work with has the ones without bands and she can eat curry and beetroot and drink tea without a second thought and it makes me really sad...go with the ones without bands!!!

You mean you have "traditional" braces and she has "self-ligating" braces.

I have Damon Braces (a brand of Self-ligating braces) and it's great not having to worry about staining or ligatures getting loose or popping off .

Truth be told, brand doesn't really matter.

Don't go by brand, go with a good Orthodontist that you like and then choose whatever available options you want.

I went with metal brackets because I don't really care if people notice (I'm sure lots of them do) or say anything (which is an uncommon/rare thing), of course if you feel a certain way about certain choices you are given, make your own choices.

At the end of the day, it matters most to us, and we need to be happy with our choices, others shouldn't be a major factor.

I have the Clarity Advanced ceramic brackets (didn't get offered the SL ones as an option). They are much less noticeable from far away. I drink a lot of coffee and red wine, so I did ask about the staining...my ortho said it wasn't too bad unless I eat curry and mustard, so I went for it. I've opted for the smoke ligatures/powerchains, which are a translucent silver and basically come off as clear, with a hint of a shimmer, and don't discolor a easily. I've noticed that they do stain a little bit in between adjustments, but it's not too bad, and honestly, no one cares or notices. I eat curry the night before every single adjustment appointment, and yup, it definitely stains.