Ceramic vs Metal Mouth Jumbie

Much to my dismay I recieved a phone call today from the orthodontist's office. Last week I called them to confirm my appointment to start putting on my brackets next week. I still had not made up my mind whether I wanted to get ceramic or metal brackets. I asked what was the absolute last day to make up my mind. I was told that Tuesday (day before appt) was my deadline cause they were doing up my contract on that day. Contract!! Is all that bacchanal to get braces???



So when I got the call today I was surprised when I was told I had to make up my mind...NOW! ARGGGHHH! I coud not even make up my mind what section to play mas in. I literally changed my mind like 5 times standing in the registration line. They actually crossed out my section on my registration card and rewrote it.If I can't decide dthat , how I am supposed to decide on teh spot something I will have to live with for the next two years or so? That I can't change after the fact at that!!



So here are my options.....I crossed out the idea of getting full metal brackets from the get go.(see pics) I DEFINITELY did not want that. I am still a bit self conscious about how the braces will actually look (on a big woman like me). So it was down to all ceramic braces or half and half (ceramic on top,metal below).


Obviously the reason I am interested in the ceramic braces is that it is less "noticeable" than metal braces. I say that with a grain of salt because really and truly you are not going to fool anyone standing right in front of you that you don't have braces on your teeth. I just think its a bit easier on the eyes, especially as an adult. You still see the metal archwire (wire across teeth) and you still see the actual bracket although it belnds into your teeth more. However one of the downfalls of ceramic braces is that it is more expensive, in my case $1500 more per arch. I was also advised by the ortho. that because the ceramic is not as rigid as the metal that the adjustments are more gradual.For this reason the ceramic may take 2-6 months longer for treatment than having metal braces.

In my case, my bottom teeth are the problem area. I also happen to smile with my top teeth because of my overbite. The plan is to put braces on the top for a few months to decrease the overbite and reduce a slight flare (aka slight buck teeth from my thumb sucking days) so that I won't bite off braces on the bottom. When this has been corrected I will place braces on my bottom teeth to fix the crowding. Seeing that the bottom are my real problem it might make sense to put ceramic on top (for aesthetics) and metal on the bottom (for efficiency) seeing that they would be partially hidden .

So its between all ceramic for looks or the combo for looks and efficiency. And I had to decide on the spot! Well I still had to compromise..I told her I would pay down for the combo since I DEFINITELY want ceramic uppers. And since I would have to have those for a few months I would decide what to do with the bottom. I think I would have better idea if the ceramics are really worth the xtra expense aesthetically once I see the ceramics on my teeth. If they don't impress me at all I guess I might bite the bullet (no pun intended) and put metal on the bottom just to be done with it faster. My main concern is that I deal with a lot of prominent (older) ppl in my business and I already feel like I don't always get the respect I deserve being both younger and female. I already look young for my age so adding braces to the mix probably won't help my image.

Funnily enough I met a client recently that had the worst teeth I had ever seen in my life.Correction....what was LEFT of his teeth was the worse teeth I had ever seen in my life. Yeah, they were that bad. His front teeth both upper and lower were missing. What was left was yellow, twisted and filled with metal. You would think that being a professional he would take his nice fat paycheck and fix that shit. My teeth aren't that bad and I am certainly not swimming in money yet I will find a way to fix them. It boggled my mind how he even LET it get to that stage and how he could look in the mirror everyday and not be concerned. It hard not to stare at them as he spoke. I think thats when I told myself that I would be damned if my teeth ever got like that. It softened the blow of paying for those fillings. I so wanted to give him my ortho's number.Would that be rude?Maybe if I meet with him again and he sees me with braces he would be inclined to ask himself. While visiting the ortho I saw a grey haired woman who had to be in her 50s/60s who had a full ceramic set.I was suprised that someone at her age would even bother, but then again, I never saw her 'before' pics. If her before looked like his, I would definitely understand why!


So few days left till the big day!We'll se how it goes!Please visit archwired.com for more inmformation on the process.Its a very good site for adults who have or want braces. Pics and all!