What do ceramic braces look like? / What do clear braces look like?
What do ceramic dental braces look like?
The makeup of ceramic braces (including clear braces) is essentially the same as traditional dental braces. They're an orthodontic apparatus comprised of brackets, wires and elastic bands. The difference between the two lies in the fact that with ceramic braces the bracket that is bonded to each individual tooth is made out of a translucent tooth-colored or clear material instead of metal, the benefit simply being an aesthetic one. The color and translucency of ceramic brackets allows them to blend in with the natural color of the patients’ teeth much more so than metal ones.
What do clear braces look like?
Clear dental braces are simply ceramic braces where the specific brand of orthodontic bracket that has been placed is one that has a high degree of translucency (is very clear). Otherwise clear braces and ceramic braces are identical.
You'll need to quiz your orthodontist about which ceramic bracket brands they prefer to use and how well they will blend in with the color of your teeth. In general, if your teeth are very white, clearer (more translucent) ceramic brackets will probably create the best, or least obvious, look. For teeth that are somewhat darker, ceramic brackets that are more tooth-colored in nature may provide the better match.
Other appearance considerations associated with clear braces.
Beyond just the color of the brackets, there are some other factors that will affect the overall appearance of a patient's ceramic braces, for better or worse.
Ceramic dental braces require the use of an archwire.
Even when ceramic brackets are utilized, a metal archwire (the wire that runs across a patient's teeth) must still be used. As a way of minimizing the bright shiny appearance of this wire, your orthodontist may offer to place a "frosted" or "coated" archwire. However, there are limitations and difficulties associated with the use of these types of wires and they may not be products that your orthodontist is interested in working with.
There is still a need for elastic bands with ceramic dental braces.
The typical design of ceramic brackets is one where the archwire that runs from bracket to bracket is bound in place using elastic bands. You can expect that you will have a large variety of colors to choose from when these bands are placed (and removed and then replaced again, every month or so). Most people with ceramic braces choose tooth-colored or clear elastic bands, so the overall appearance of their braces blends in with their teeth as much as possible.
There can be an effect where the chosen bands (especially clear or white) look great at first but then, due to exposure to colored foods and beverages, become stained and visually detracting. Pretty much any consumable that has a strong coloration has the potential to stain a patient's orthodontic bands. Coffee, tea, cola, mustard, ketchup, curry, blueberries, tobacco are all known to be common culprits in creating this effect.
There is no real solution for this problem other than to minimize your consumption of whatever foods you find create this problem. Of course when your elastic bands are changed, usually every month or so, you will get a fresh, clean start.
Ceramic brackets are usually larger than their metal counterparts.
A patient's orthodontic brackets are placed under a significant amount of stress over the course of their treatment. Since it is the nature of ceramic materials that they are less strong and more brittle than metal, ceramic orthodontic brackets are typically slightly larger and bulkier than their metal counterparts.
