Damon vs. Traditional braces

[vermontmommy]

These questions are related to my 8 year old daughter who has a crossbite and an underbite.

Dr. A pushed for the Damon ones claiming they worked better, quicker and there was no need for the old school head gear. She was giving Kate spacers and braces 4 bottom and 4 top teeth. They were $4700. I do feel you are paying for a brand.

Dr. B. says the science is wrong and the Damon are not doing what they claim. He said Kate needed spacers, retainers, braces and head gear but was $3530. - My concern here is headgear that my 8 year old would wear 12 plus hours a day. All at home but still not as easy thing for an 8 year old to do.

Dr. C we visit tomorrow. I believe she uses the Damon braces. I feel like I need one more Dr. that uses the traditional braces.

If we get the same results without headgear for 18months that seems worth the extra, gulp, $1170. I just don't want to pay ($ and time) for a system that does not deliver the results that that the traditional braces would give her.

Both require a phase 2 when her adult teeth are in. Time wise one is 12-15 months and the other 15-18 months. I don't care about the few months difference I just want to be sure that in the end of which ever system we use the results will be grand.

Thoughts?

Thank you.

[Sunny]

It's wonderful that you're doing so much research for your daughter.

First up ... brackets are brackets ... they don't move teeth and one can't do anything that another can't. I think you're right to suspect that some people charge for a brand name ... but that's all you're getting ... a brand name ... the results would be the same if this ortho used any of the traditional brackets ... of which damon is also one.

If an ortho tries to push a brand, my advice is don't stay in those rooms for long. Ortho's need to be keeping their skills up-to-date, which would mean having to change brands if a particular brand was no longer available. Therefore if they really believe that because it has a brand name it can deliver better results, they're not as skilled as they should be.

Good luck with finding the best ortho for your daughter and remember that time spend at this stage will usually result in the best treatment. Some people see many ortho's before chosing the person best for them.

[ToonKid]

I faced this same problem, here's what my orthodontist reviewed with me..

TRADITIONAL BRACES
What to do: Ceramic Brackets + Archwires, 4 Bicuspid Extractions + (Unidentified metal thingy over the roof of my mouth ._.)
Results: Straight teeth, overbite fix, perfect bite and a more visible chin

DAMON BRACES
What to do: Damon brackets
Results: Straight teeth

I chose traditional braces cause i felt it had more benefits, though the extractions can be a bit difficult but this isn't the case with your daughter. I would go with traditional, damon is just a bracket and thats basically it.
Their so-called slogan, "More than Straight Teeth" was the exact opposite with my case. -_-

[melgreen]

I'm going to take this a step further and suggest you find someone who offers SELF LIGATING brackets that are NOT Damons.

It is true Damons are just a brand but they are also a TYPE of bracket that is DIFFERENT then 'traditional' brackets.

Self ligating do not have 'ligatures' - the little tiny elastics that look like teeny donuts that fit around each bracket and keep the arch wire in place in the mouth. Ligatures are what come in a variety of colors and kids choose different colors each time they visit. Most adults on the other hand choose the most inconspicuous color so as to avoid the attention to their mouths. (There are exceptions and some adults also choose colors - to each his own.)

On the other hand "self ligating' brackets of which DAMON is a brand require no ligatures. They have tiny 'doors' on the bracket that open and close to keep the archwire in place. Benefits to this all depend on the ortho - some orthos feel they get better results and prefer self ligating to traditional and ofcourse other orthos feel the same about traditional brackets WITH ligatures.
For adults - benefits of SL's is if they chose a ceramic bracket, there is NO elastic ligature to deal with and ligatures often stain and discolor negating the affect of a more aesthetic looking ceramic bracket.

There are MANY companies that make self ligating brackets. INFACT MANY of the leading traditional bracket companies ALSO make self ligating!
3M and GAC are both big names in the orthodontia industry and both make a traditional bracket that requires a ligature and a self ligating bracket that does not require a ligature. (3M makes Smartclip and GAC makes Inovation) ORMCO makes Damon.

I live in NJ and have consulted with many orthos. I'd say about 60% only use self ligating brackets and NONE used Damons, they offer Smart Clip or Inovation self ligating brackets. And I did not meet ANY ortho who charged MORE for a self ligating bracket.

Frankly - your prices sound very reasonable, whether you opt to go with traditional or self ligating brackets.

As someone else said - the bracket does not move the teeth, the skill of the ortho does (with the help of the archwire).

Debates about which technique will go on forever and ever - it really comes down to personal preferene and success of the ortho and ofcourse what the patient prefers. Me personally - I want self ligating for a lot of reasons and I'm lucky enough to have found an ortho I trust completely who will ONLY use self ligating brackets. I'll be getting braced in August - and I am 44.

Best of luck with what you decide for your daughter!

[catgyrl]

Hi Mel!

Congrats! I'm so glad you were able to find an ortho you were happy with, and that you're finally able to "get this show on the road"! Did you decide on ceramic or metal?

vermontmommy - Good luck to you! I hadn't realized that they start kids on braces so YOUNG now. My nephew just got his off, and I just realized he's only 11 now! Back in "my day", that's when we started getting them. I remember my friends changing their rubber bands in the middle of lunch - so gross! haha

-Cathy

[melgreen]

Thanks Cathy - didn't decide on ceramic or metal yet, I can wait until last minute for that. But to save $ I will likely go with all metal. The more I think about it the more I feel that regardless there is something on my teeth - and the cost savings will be enough that it is encouraging me to go with metal as well.

[Daruki]

Daon is just a brand name for the general self-litigating brackets. In my experience, self-litigating brackets do work faster, but then again, it also depends on the patient and the doctor's expertise.

Check my thread for my results with self-litigating brackets.

6 months later... I am almost there!

[stevenson]

Damon braces are considered to be the “new generation” braces. My orthodontist doesn’t use the regular ones for some years already. He’s using Damon, ceramics, Incognito and Invisalign. I wore Damon 3 braces and so did many of his patients. The Damon braces use the ideas that made the regular ones work nice for years, but offer faster results, with less “equipment” needed (not ligatures on the brackets), with a better aspect and more discreet brackets...

[Sunny]

Daruki your teeth have made wonderful changes so far, as is expected of teeth that need aligning like your's. Alignment is the first stage of orthodontics and for those with major alignment issues, the archwire works a treat ... and this has nothing to do with the brackets, but everything to do with the archwire, the teeth and the skill of your ortho. Also of importance is the patients compliance!