Ceramic dental braces: Selecting the teeth on which they should be placed.
There can be reasons why ceramic braces are only placed on some of the patient's teeth.
There can be reasons why ceramic brackets might be placed on just some of a patient's teeth. In most cases this will be the upper teeth, possibly even just the front upper teeth. And while the idea of this configuration may be a disappointment to some patients initially, once it is demonstrated to them how comparatively little the teeth with the traditional metal brackets will show during normal function, they are usually fine with it. Here are some of the reason's ceramic braces may not be placed on all of a patient's teeth.
The cost of a full set of ceramic braces may be prohibitive for the patient.
The cost of ceramic braces is typically greater than that fee an orthodontist will charge for traditional braces. And due to this factor, some patients may need to look for cost-cutting alternatives.
One compromise solution can be to just place the ceramic brackets on those teeth that show prominently. Usually this is the upper teeth, possibly even just the center six upper front teeth. Those teeth that don't receive tooth-colored brackets will have metal brackets placed on them. However, because these teeth (the lower teeth, the back upper teeth) aren't as readily visible, this combination can result in a reasonably attractive cosmetic appearance.
The orthodontist may be concerned that ceramic braces may cause tooth wear.
The material that is used to create ceramic brackets is harder than tooth enamel. And because of this fact, ceramic braces have the potential to create wear, even severe wear, on those teeth that touch against them. For this reason, after examining their patient's bite and evaluating the way in which their teeth overlap when they close, an orthodontist may decide that they should not offer to place ceramic braces on the patient's lower teeth for fear of creating a situation where excessive wear will take place.
Plastic orthodontic brackets: This history, the problems.
The first tooth-colored orthodontic brackets were made out of plastic, acrylic or polycarbonate. And due to the nature of these materials they had a number of inherent problems, the stigma of which is still sometimes equated with today's clear and tooth-colored ceramic brackets.
Plastic brackets had a tendency to stain, develop an odor and also experience bonding failures, fracture or deformation. In comparison, today's clear and tooth-colored orthodontic brackets are fabricated using ceramic materials (polycrystalline or monocrystalline aluminum oxide). These materials offer greater strength, resistance to deformation and wear, improved color stability and a superior cosmetic appearance, thus making the majority of concerns that have historically been associated with tooth-colored brackets a thing of the past.
