Are Damon Clear and In-Ovation two different things?

[goldenapple]

Just met with one orthodontist today morning. I told him that I am interested in getting Damon Clear, and he told me that he is able to put Damon Clear on all teeth on the top. From another orthodontist and some posts I have read here, Damon Clear is only on the top front 6, so I wondered why he was able to put all clear on the top. And then he showed me a box of clear brackets. He told me that those are In-Ovation and they are clear. So at that moment I thought maybe there is another kind of Damon braces that uses In-Ovation.

After I came back home and did more research, it seems like Damon Clear and In-Ovation are two different things (although both are self-ligating)... Can anyone clear my confusion?

Damon system advertises that it is less painful, so I am wondering that has anyone who has gotten both Damon Clear and In-Ovation and knows from personal experience that which one actually hurts less?

And what difference is there between Damon 3 and Damon Q besides that the former is half clear/half metal and the later one is all metal? Which one is smaller and less bulkier? Does anyone have a personal experience to share?

Greatly appreciate your opinion.

[Sunny]

Hi Goldenapple!

How many teeth have ceramic brackets is usually dependant on the preferance of the ortho and/or the cost. Mostly ceramic brackets are put on the teeth that show when a person smiles, which is usually the front 6 or 8 and sometimes the front 10. The ortho has to also take into account how the bite is working, as the ceramic brackets are very hard and if 'banged' by a tooth, it's likely the tooth will be chipped.

There are many companies making orthodontic brackets and these brand names include damon which has a ceramic bracket called clear. GAC is another brand and it makes a ceramic bracket called In-Ovacation. So your research was correct ... two different brands and two different brackets.

The people who market brackets often make statements that aren't truth. Brackets don't move teeth, archwires do, so there's no way a bracket can make the moving teeth more or less painful. A skilled ortho using modern archwires is the best way to have teeth move. Some people who have sensitive teeth and/or mouths, will still find it uncomfortable, but rarely painful.

Companies making brackets give each one a different name. Damon 3 was damon's part clear and Q was the bracket they designed prior to clear. The brackets can be mixed, with Q often being used with clear. This means that the area that the archwire goes through must be the same height off the tooth ... so they can work together. This will mean that they are very similar in size. All brackets are small, but there may be a small amount of difference. The most uncomfortable brackets are the very small metal brackets, as the smaller they are the more pokey they are. If you put a row of people side by side, with the same bracket, there's a good chance that each person will look to have a different bracket. This is because of the size of their teeth, the colour and shape, plus how there teeth align and there bite.

The best bracket is the one the ortho you choose to treat you, prefers to use!

[josie]

Hi - I have In-Ovation on the top and Damon Q on the bottom. (If Q is the metal Damons, that is?). I do think having clear/ceramic on the top looks a lot better aesthetically.

In-Ovation is a self-ligating bracket, just like Damon is. I did ask my ortho to put Damon clear on my top teeth, but as they have only just come out in the UK, he didn't want to use them because he says that when new products come out, they have had problems with them in the past (brackets coming off teeth, wires repeatedly popping out, that kind of thing) and so he preferred to use In-Ovation because he had used them many times, was very familiar with them and knew they did a good job and were reliable. I took his advice as it seems in my best interests to use something he feels confident with and is experienced with.

I've had no problems with my In-Ovation brackets or wire. The only problem I've had is with a wire on my lower Damons which has popped out a few times.

Good luck - In-Ovation are a popular bracket which you can trust, IMO - but I'd go with whatever your ortho feels confident with, as long as it has the appearance you want.

[drd]

Hi goldenapple,
Damon Q is the newest version of the Damon bracket. The Q's are more similar in shape to more traditional braces that use colored rubber bands to hold the wire in place. A huge improvement in the Q is that to open the doors a small hand instrument is used that twists. There is zero pressure opening and closing, which is a monumental difference to prior versions, that includes GAC Innovations, prior Damons, or Unitek brackets. We have been using these for quite a while now and haven't had the same issues with discomfort as in the past.

The difference between Innovation and Damon is how the wire is held in the bracket. Wires in Damon are floating in the wire slot and are called passive self-ligating. GAC brackets clip the wire into the slot and are called active self-ligating. Better is a personal preference. Damon brackets are significantly more expensive to purchase and have a relatively high learning curve to perfect the technique. I am using Damon Q on my daughter because I like how it works, so I use it for my patients. Others like GAC better.

Hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more.
drd

Clear Q brackets are only available on the upper from cuspid to cuspid. The clear bicuspid brackets are scheduled to be released in December, but you never know until it actually happens. The new clear Q's are really clear and have no metal door holding the wire in the slot.

Hope this helps