What Are Ceramic Braces?
Getting your teeth straightened in Carson can not only be easy, it can happen almost invisibly thanks to new innovations in orthodontics. If you or your child need braces, ceramic braces might just be the best solution. Ceramic braces provide the benefits of traditional metal braces with a less visible appearance. They can be a great alternative to Invisalign clear aligners.
What Are Ceramic Braces?
Ceramic braces are an orthodontic solution to correct misaligned teeth that work just like metal braces, but they use clear or tooth-colored brackets instead of shiny brackets made of metal.
What Makes Ceramic Braces Different From Traditional Metal Braces?
Metal braces have been a mainstay of orthodontics for many, many years. Braces are a tried-and-true orthodontic solution proven to safely shift teeth into the correct position. With braces, many common orthodontic problems can be easily fixed, from crooked teeth to misaligned bites.
The obvious problem with metal braces is that they are, well, obvious. You can easily see the metal brackets when someone wearing braces smiles, sometimes even when they talk.
Ceramic braces fix this problem. With ceramic braces, a special type of ceramic called porcelain is used instead of metal for the braces’ brackets. Ceramic brackets made out of porcelain are colored off-white or translucent to match tooth color, whereas metal brackets look like metal.
What Exactly Are Braces Brackets?
Braces brackets are the key part in orthodontic braces. Brackets basically hold everything together. They are secured to teeth using a non-toxic adhesive and thus are the “foundation” for the braces. Connected to the brackets are wires that hold tension to gently guide individual teeth into place. Elastics are also used to make sure the wires and brackets are secure.
Since the brackets hold the wires and must also stay secured to the teeth, they are the largest, most visible part of braces. While modern braces brackets are actually smaller than the ones used decades ago, they are still visible, especially when made of metal. Since ceramic brackets are customized to match your tooth color, they are much less noticeable.
Clear wires are also used with ceramic braces to reduce the look of braces.
Who Can Benefit From Ceramic Braces?
Both adults and children can benefit from porcelain ceramic braces, but they are generally recommended more for teens and older children. Younger children these days don’t mind metal braces, because they like to “dress them up” with colorful elastics.
While ceramic braces are pretty tough, you need to be a little bit gentle with them, because the ceramic brackets can break unlike metal. (That said, metal brackets can be dislodged from teeth, so you need to be careful with them too.) For this reason, ceramic braces are better for older and more mature kids.
What Do Ceramic Braces Cost?
Ceramic braces cost a few thousand dollars like traditional metal braces do, but porcelain ceramic may be slightly more expensive than metal. To save on costs, many patients choose to use ceramic braces on the top teeth and metal braces on the bottom teeth.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Ceramic Metal Braces?
Ceramic metal braces are popular because they are less visible than regular metal braces. For adult professionals, they are definitely the preferred type of braces. Many teens also like ceramic braces because they may make the teen feel less self-conscious about wearing braces.
Porcelain ceramic braces have a few downsides. One, as mentioned above, they are slightly more fragile than metal braces because of the type of material used. Granted, porcelain ceramic is very hard and durable and is also stain resistant. However, the ceramic does have a potential to break if it is stressed too much.
The second main downside with ceramic braces is that the length of time for treatment might take a little longer, perhaps a few months more. This is because the ceramic can break under great amounts of stress. For this reason, the tension in ceramic braces is less than that used in metal braces. This makes the treatment last a little longer, but for many people, this extra time is well worth it.
Why Not Just Use Invisalign Clear Aligners Instead of Ceramic Braces?
For many patients, the choice isn’t really between ceramic and metal braces but between ceramic braces and Invisalign. So why choose ceramic braces when Invisalign clear aligners are available?
What Are Invisalign Clear Aligners?
Invisalign clear aligners are an alternative to braces that use clear plastic trays that you can remove when eating and brushing teeth. They are virtually invisible because the trays do not need brackets or wires and are see-through.
Why Choose Ceramic Braces Over Invisalign?
Given that braces cannot be removed and Invisalign clear aligners are pretty much see through, why use ceramic braces?
For one thing, you or your child may have an orthodontic misalignment that simply responds better to braces instead of Invisalign. If this is the case, our Carson orthodontist will let you know.
Here’s another reason why you might choose ceramic braces over Invisalign: ceramic braces cannot be removed by the patient. This might seem to be a reason not to get ceramic braces, but consider the following:
- Here’s another reason why you might choose ceramic braces over Invisalign: ceramic braces cannot be removed by the patient. This might seem to be a reason not to get ceramic braces, but consider the following:
- Some adults also prefer ceramic braces because they might find the idea of taking out Invisalign trays to eat and drink to be too much of a hassle. In this sense, ceramic braces are easier, even though you do have to be careful with what you eat.
What Kind of Results Can I Expect From Ceramic Braces?
While it might take a year or more, once you are done wearing ceramic braces, you’ll have an amazing new smile. You will have straight, beautiful teeth that can reveal a lifetime of fabulous smiles, provided you do your part with regular dental hygiene.
Need Braces? Try Ceramic Braces in Carson, California
As you can see, ceramic braces made from porcelain are a great alternative to traditional metal braces. If you live in the South Bay, Orthodontics of Carson is available to help you with the latest orthodontics techniques and technologies. If you think ceramic braces might be helpful for you or your child, give us a call. We will review the case during a consultation that includes a comprehensive dental exam.
Are you interested in ceramic braces as an alternative to metal braces? Contact Orthodontics of Carson in Southern California today at (424) 391-8941.
