Ceramic Vs. Metal Braces
One challenge when you’re beginning any orthodontia is choosing what type of braces you want. There are two different types, ceramic and metal braces, and each has different functionality and benefits. You may wonder which one is best for you? The answer is really based on personal preferences, and what you want from your braces, and here, we’ll go over each.
Metal braces are usually brackets put on both the front and back of teeth, and they are gathered so that the teeth and the bite are in the correct place, and are straighter. Metal braces are made of stainless steel brackets and the wires are a type of a metal alloy, and they’re adjusted with the help of rubber bands that are attached to this. Traditional braces use wires, brackets, and ligatures that are part of the main elements, but the self-ligating braces have clips versus the ligatures that hole the wires to the brackets. If your teen feels a little self-conscious with these, you will want to let them know that metal is pretty normal, and many of their peers sport similar grins. Ceramic, in contrast, have tooth-colored or cleared ligatures and brackets, and while they still have metal wires, they typically are not as obvious, and they both have ligatures that have wires that attach to each.
Metal and ceramic braces often put pressure on the teeth, but if you’re concerned about the appearance, the main difference is metal braces have the metal brackets, whereas the ceramic ones have brackets that blend in with your teeth, but they are attached to a metal wire, and that will be visible when smiling no matter what.
The best way to determine which one you should get is really just based on your dentist, and look at images with both metal and ceramic, and talk with the child which one they may prefer. They are both noticeable, but the ceramic ones are less noticeable, but if you want straightforward braces, you should get traditional. Ceramic often can become stained and discolored over time, and they tend to last a bit longer treatment-wise since the ceramic brackets do create a friction against the wires. Metal is also cheaper, and treatment isn’t affected by this, but it often is way more noticeable, and that’s something that some kids aren’t totally cool with, and the best thing to do in that situation, is to choose which one is best for you.
The best thing to do when choosing braces, is to talk with your orthodontist about what works best for you, and choose one that will provide for you the smile that you want, and always make sure that you take the time necessary to take care of your teeth, so that when the braces come off, it looks better,r and your child will feel way better about this as well, and it can ultimately help with the overall result of the different aspects of this as well for you.
