What are these brackets, and why don't I have them?

[Denise]

So I went in for my normal dentist cleaning today, and my hygenist had braces, but her brackets were the same as I've seen on several people and I am wanting to know what they are and potentially, why don't I have them?

They are tiny, and completely transparent. When she smiled, all I could see was her wires. I looked closer when I was lying in the chair and they are tiny brackets, and very small. The ceramics I have now are absolutely huge, they make my lips enormous and they stick out way farther than metal ones do. They were supposed to be more inconspicuous than metal, but to me they actually stand out more.

So we go to the same ortho (the only one in town), and the ortho himself had these same brackets as well. So my question is - what are these brackets, and furthermore, why wouldn't they have offered them to me when I got my braces back in April, and I told them I wanted the most low-key brackets I could get. She's had hers on for over a year, so I know it's not something he just started offering.

Thanks for the insight to anyone who can help. I go in for an adjustment on the 12th so I plan on asking him about them at that time, but for now I'm just curious about them.

Thanks!!

[Denise]

BTW they kind of look like these:

Except I didn't notice that hers stuck out quite so far.The ones in this picture are slightly bulkier than the ones I have seen on folks around here, but the color (translucent) is the same.

[mikeg]

looks like ice braces... they are very transparent for sure.

[Sunny]

There are hundreds of types of ceramic brackets and each ortho only has one type, maybe two ... so when you've chosen your ortho, you have to go with what they have. If you're happy with your ortho be happy with your brackets.

The height off the teeth for ceramic and metal brackets is the same ... that's why ortho's can mix ceramic and metal on the same arch. If they couldn't do this, they'd have problems putting brackets on the back teeth.

Brackets can appear different sizes for many reason, but mostly due to their shading. Ceramic brackets do generally have a similar footprint (piece attached to the tooth), but after that the size, shape and colour can vary.

There's a couple of brands which are very transparent and do appear to suit people with less than white teeth really well. The two most popular seem to be ice and radiance. The ones in the pic you've attached remind me of a bracket called sapphire, which used to be one of the most transparent.

Most important ... is how well the archwires are working! Good luck with your progress!

[lor-black]

Those are ceramic braces. I actually have those on.

The difference is mainly in cost, although there are other differences. Having worn both of them (ceramic and metal), I hope I can clear things up a bit.

Ceramic braces are a lot more expensive than metal ones (double the cost more or less), and also take a lot more to do their work. While metal braces might do it in a year/year and a half, the ceramic ones take half a year more at the least. They still suck the same, being a bother and such lol.

Take care, hope I cleared things up

Kisses, Lor xxxx

[coconut]

Ceramic braces are a lot more expensive than metal ones (double the cost more or less), and also take a lot more to do their work. While metal braces might do it in a year/year and a half, the ceramic ones take half a year more at the least. They still suck the same, being a bother and such lol.

While ceramic braces can add to the cost, I've not heard of them being anywhere near double the cost of metal braces. Also, the notion that they take much longer to do the job than metal braces is debatable. One certainly couldn't put a time frame on it.

[ccoleman95]

i have those ceramic brackets on the top, metal on the bottom...they were 400 extra for the ceramic, and i was not aware of any extension in time wearing them...

[Sunny]

Hi Lor

The difference is mainly in cost, ... Ceramic braces are a lot more expensive than metal ones (double the cost more or less),

Not all ceramic brackets cost more than all metal brackets. Where I work the brackets are so close in cost to us, that we charge the same to all patients. Plus we offer ceramic to all patients and most take that option.

... also take a lot more to do their work. While metal braces might do it in a year/year and a half, the ceramic ones take half a year more at the least.

There is no evidence of this being the case. We use more ceramic brackets than stainless brackets and our patients treatment is finished in the same time frames as similar patients had when we used all stainless. There has been rumours that it might add a month or two to treatment, so the ortho's I work with researched that thoroughly and found it was mostly being put out there by the people behind other types of brackets. The unfortunate thing is that some people read something once, think it's truth and don't find out more.

Another important thing to remember is that brackets don't move teeth ... so if ceramic brackets have any affect on treatment time, it's not to do with movement but other factors. This is what we researched and came up with zero evidence. Now we use mostly ceramic brackets and have our own stats!

Most of us realise how lucky we are to be able to have orthodontic work ... even though many of us have waited many decades to do this. Sometimes there may be discomfort and a few hassles, but look around at the real world and you'll quickly realise we have nothing to complain about ... as we don't have to do this!

[Denise]

Oh I'm glad to be doing my treatment, even though the adjustments are akin to the worst pain I've pretty much ever felt...but my progress is going great. I have an adjustment next Monday and I'm going to ask my ortho how he thinks my treatment is going thus far, and if we're "on schedule" as he originally planned for time frames and such.

With the brackets, I only hate them because they are so big. They do stick out farther than the metal ones my sister has (same ortho) and the girl at the dental office's brackets were so teeny tiny, and totally clear. She said they are super comfortable, and she loves them. She was surprised at how big and "bulky" my ceramic ones are, so this is only why I was getting info on what they could possibly be. I'd love to have smaller brackets, but at this point I'm not paying even more money just to have them switched out. These already cost me an additional $600.