Traditional Braces
Many adults chose to have more traditional braces to straighten their teeth. There are several different types including metal brackets and tooth coloured or clear brackets #adultbraces
Traditional Braces
Many adults still choose to have traditional braces and irrespective of whether the brackets are metal or clear, self ligating or not, they all perform a similar job in straightening your teeth. Traditional braces tend to be more cost effective than lingual braces or aligners and may offer the orthodontist the best option for undertaking complex tooth movments particularly when elastics are required as part of the treatment plan.
Braces are comprised of three main components, the brackets that are glued to your teeth, the arch wire that connects the brackets and elastics that are used to both hold the arch wire in the bracket and to move your teeth. Clear brackets are very discreet, particularly if you already have really white teeth, but the metal arch wires and elastics are more visible which will make them more noticable as treatment progresses.
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Traditional metal brackets offer many adult patients a great option as they are readily available, easy to apply and remove, cost effective and the preferred choice of many orthodontists. You can also have different coloured elastic modules to personalise your brace (my favourite was black) and can pick a different colour at each appointment. Please give these some serious consideration as many other adults comment on their blogs that they were delighted with their decision to have metal brackets.
Features
Visibility
Clear brackets are quite discreet but the arch wire and elastics will be noticable. You can’t hide your braces if you have metal brackets but in my experience, no one takes any interest in your treatment
Fixed
You can’t remove your braces so they continue working 24/7
Effective
Traditional braces are very effective in treating a wide range of issues and offer the orthodontist a great deal of flexibility and control
Comfortable
After initially adapting to wearing them, most people describe them as comfortable to wear
Availability
Metal and clear brackets are readily available from many practices
Elastics
Even if you have self ligating brackets, you are likely to have elastics at some point in your treatment.
Speech
Traditional braces are unlikely to cause you any difficulty with speech and you will adapt to wearing them really quickly
Range of options
There are a wide range of different bracket types, your orthodontist can guide you and discuss the merits of each
Oral health
There are a lot of places for plaque to hide around the brackets, the arch wires and elastics which will make teeth cleaning more challenging
Blog posts
A braces blog update from Steffanie
Steffanie, who writes the great 'brighter, darling' blog has posted an update on her adult braces. She describes the progress she has made over the last 11 months, the transition to elastics and the work that has now started to address her cross-bite. You can read...
Essix retainers – a six month review
Following my post on my fixed retainers, I thought I would write an update on how I'm getting on with my Essix retainers. It's been around six months since my braces were removed and as well as fixed retainers, I also received Essix retainers. Impressions were taken...
Invisalign 4 million smiles
Align Technology, the people behind Invisalign, have just announced that they have started treating their 4 millionth patient and to celebrate this milestone, they are donating $1 to Operation Smile for every smile tweeted using the hashtag #4millionsmiles. They have...
Are fixed retainers better than Essix retainers?
Prof. Kevin O'Brien has published a review of a retention trial conducted to find out whether fixed retainers are any better than removable vacuum formed retainers. The trial involved 82 patients who had completed treatment with fixed braces and randomly assigned...
Fixed retainers – a six month review
Prior to completing active treatment I conducted a fair amount of research into long term retention and different types of retainers. From this I concluded that the regular, life long, use of a retainer is essential to prevent relapse and to maintain the result I and...
London Lingual Orthodontic Clinic
I was delighted to receive an invitation to spend some time at the well respected London Lingual Orthodontic Clinic in Wimple Street last week. During my time there, I met the team, experienced some amazing scanning technology and spent time talking to Dr. Asif Chatoo...
A braces blog by Steffanie
I have been following a great braces blog by Steffanie who writes 'brighter, darling' in which she describes her experiences with adult braces. Steffanie elected to have conventional metal brackets (great choice Steffanie!) and decided part way through treatment to...
Orthodontic patient compliance
Most adult orthodontic patients get fixed braces in some form or other but at some point in your treatment you may be required to comply with instructions from your orthodontist to use a removable appliance or elastics. If you think this won't apply to you, just...
Scanning vs Impressions
I think I can confidently say that having alginate impressions has been my least favourite part of undergoing adult orthodontics so I was extremely interested in taking up a kind offer from Dr. Asif Chatoo at the London Lingual Orthodontic Clinic to try their scanning...
The Invisalign phone app
If you are having Invisalign treatment, you can download a great app that enables you to record your progress and to review the changes between each aligner. Although I have not had Invisalign, I have downloaded this app and have tried it...
Keeping a braces journal
There is something so nice and rewarding about keeping a journal whether it is for social events and travel, life plans or a reflection of what you have been up to. Keeping a braces journal is also a great way to record your progress and to reflect on the whole...
How to survive adult braces
Adults decide to get braces for many reasons. Some are new to the experience whilst others have had braces before and are returning for a second or even third round of treatment. This post is a light-hearted look at how to survive adult braces. Firstly, a huge dose...
More UK adults are seeking orthodontic treatment
In a survey conducted by the British Orthodontic Society in June 2016, 75% of dental practices who responded to the survey reported an increase in adults seeking orthodontic treatment. A key driver for this increase was identified as a heightened awareness of adult...
How to talk with retainers
Whether you receive clear aligner type retainers such as Essix or Invisalign Vivera or traditional wire retainers, one of the first things you will notice is that it is a little difficult to speak clearly with them. The first thing to note is that you will always...
A lingual braces blog – by Rachel
I was searching through Twitter earlier today and unexpectedly came across a lovely blog, A Nesting Nomad, by Rachel, who is undergoing Incognito lingual braces treatment. Her blog details the process and her thoughts about getting braces as well as detailed progress...
My Invisalign experience – by Anna
I'm hugely grateful to Anna who writes the great 'a whole lot of chitty chat' blog for writing this super article on her experience with Invisalign. Hello readers of UK adult braces! I'm Anna and I blog (occasionally) on my little slice online, 'a whole lot of chitty...
Invisalign attachments
If you are undertaking Invisalign treatment, you will probably need attachments added during at some point to enable to the aligners to grip better and to achieve a range of movements that would not be possible without them. This great...
Invisalign deep bite treatment
There are so many really good video clips on sites such as YouTube which explain many different aspects of orthodontics and this is one I came across earlier which shows how the Invisalign system can correct a deep bite. If this is part...
How to keep your removable retainers clean
Once finished with orthodontic treatment, you will get retainers to keep everything where it should be and to prevent your teeth from relapsing. These retainers will either be fixed in place behind your teeth or removable for wearing as directed by your orthodontist....
Invisalign refinements – an update from Anna
In her blog, 'a whole lot of chitty chat', Anna has written an update on her progress with Invisalign. She has reached the refinement stage and has another nine Invisalign trays to go to finish her treatment. She also talks about the importance of keeping your teeth...
Why is Invisalign so popular?
I recently read that Invisalign has treated over three million patients so I thought I would try and find out what makes this treatment option so popular. I have not had Invisalign so can't write from first hand experience so have relied on the comments of many...