Damon clear on bottom?

[jules-hart]

Hi, I just got damon braces yesterday. I requested damon clear and they put clear brackets on my top front teeth but metal on the bottom; I am wondering why not clear on both top and bottom. Anyone have an idea? I should have asked the ortho but was somewhat in shock at the time.

[readytosmile]

I was told that they don't make clears for the bottoms. I begged for them from my ortho but he says they just don't exist. :-(

[Sunny]

Mostly it depends on your bite. The ceramic brackets are very hard and will chip a tooth if it should knock them. Most ortho's are happy to do the upper 'social six' or eight or ten using ceramic brackets, but when it comes to the lowers many don't want to risk a person chipping their teeth.

Talk to your ortho about why this was done.

Good luck adjusting!

[lauralea]

I was told the same thing, Damon Clears are not made for the bottom. Brackets are designed for specific teeth, and they just do not make clears for the bottom. Im impartial to having clears on the bottom, but im sure glad I got them on the top. Dont know what to expect at my 2nd adjustment next week though..kinda nervous!?!?!

[Carrie]

I too have clears on top and metal on the bottom due to my bite. My bite was so bad at first I went 4 months between getting the top and bottom done.

[emmie]

I know they have clear for the bottom because if I end up having to get my bottom braced I will have the damon clear on the bottom... BUT, i have had braces before and my bite is all lined up..

[lauralea]

Did they actually say that it was damon clears on the bottom, because the clears are similiar to the damon 3 braces. I would ask your ortho...

[emmie]

maybe it wouldn't have been damon on the bottom, but another clear kind.. Youre right, i may have been mistaking on the brands there.

[Liv]

I had my Damon Clear's put on my upper "social six" Jan-8-10 and had Damon Q's put on my lowers May-7-10. I too asked my orthodontist why I couldn't have clears on all of them and was advised they don't make them for lowers yet.

Granted, my bite wouldn't have allowed for the bulkier size of the Damon Clear in comparison to the Damon Q, but it would have been a neat feature. Ultimately, my lower teeth do not typically show during normal speech and in my natural smile so it's not a big deal for me. Even as an adult I don't get many looks or comments about wearing braces because they're not noticeable, and for those who do notice, they're more curious about the typical:

1. Do they hurt?
2. Will you have to wear them longer than a kid?
3. Can you still brush your teeth?
4. Do you think I'm too old for braces?

Needless to say, my orthodontist has gotten at least 3 more clients from my referrals.

My only complaint about Damon Clear is that I can open all of the brackets with my fingers and it's become a nervous habit of mine. I do not recommend these for children/teenagers for this simple fact. However, they're durable and halfway through my estimated treatment, I've not had any issues with broken, loose, or otherwise damaged brackets.

Attached is a pic of my normal smile. Can you really notice them? ((Shown with metal wire, not white))

Daniella Michaud's Photos | Facebook

[Sunny]

They look great Daniella!

Ceramic brackets are not easy to see unless someone is close to you and staring at your mouth. They're great for most people and where I work we put them on the upper six teeth free of charge.

It's great that your treatment is going so well!

[lauralea]

Daniella,I agree with your complaint of being able to open the brackets. I do this much too often, even though i dont mean to. although I do still at times take the wire out briefly to floss properly.
I even take my wire out myself at the ortho office, I dont think they even mind, its kinda intersting.
Hey on another note, how often so you have panoramic xrays when you have braces? It will be 6 month mark at my next visit, and I overheard him saying that next appointment he wants some xrays.
Thanks,
Oh an Daniella, your smile is beautiful!

[Sunny]

I can't believe your ortho doesn't mind you taking the archwire out, that's incredible, as it takes many years of training to get the archwire in the right place. If you put it in the wrong place ... just slightly to the left or right, then it will act on those teeth to change them. The archwire must be centred correctly to work correctly.

The second one is usually done near the end to check the roots of the teeth are moving and to see what adjusting needs to be done to get them in place. Often the teeth look perfect, but it can take many months to get the roots of the teeth perfect. We will do additional x-rays if the person has some teeth with short roots, so we can keep a check on how they're progressing. If teeth are refusing to move they sometimes need another x-ray, but this doesn't happen very often.

In my case I've had two ... one before my treatment plan was prepared and one at around the sour year mark to see how the roots of my teeth were coping with an extended period of treatment.

Good luck with your x-rays!

[lauralea]

When is your next chair time Sunny...how is the elastic wearing going? Hope all is going well...really interested in how things are going.
Thanks for the info.
Nancy

[Sunny]

Had chair time last week and my ortho wants me to keep at this for another few months ... which I'm a bit frustrated about, but he's a top guy and he's trying to do his best with a case that's just not responding the way we'd hoped.

I'm back to wearing two elastics and my next chair time is in September and he plans to move a few brackets around at that one ... so I'm hoping that I'll convince him to call it 'quits' before this christmas.

I must take some photos and update my blog ... I've been slack. Sadly the elastics achieved very little ... but it was worth trying.

Thanks for asking Nancy!