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
BOS Advice Leaflets
The British Orthodontic Society (BOS) has a great website with a great deal of patient oriented information including some downloadable leaflets covering adult orthodontics, different types of braces, retainers, IPR, brace friendly food and drink and a lot more. If...
How I got my smile back – a lingual braces blog
I have just come across another lovely blog written by Victoria who is undergoing lingual braces treatment at the London Lingual Orthodontic Clinic. In her post, she describes why she decided to get braces as an adult and how she regained her confidence to smile...
6 Month Smiles
Professor Kevin O'Brien, a well known and respected figure in UK orthodontics writes a blog, mainly aimed at dental professionals, in which he discusses the results of orthodontic research. A number of his posts are more general in nature and one published today...
Orthodontic emergencies
It would be nice to think that your entire time with braces will go well and you will have no need to call for an emergency appointment but things do happen and this post is about what might happen and what I experienced during my 33 months with braces. When you first...
How to avoid losing your retainers
I read an interesting tweet yesterday in which someone described how a patient had reported that they had lost their retainers on a picnic as, and are you ready for this, a sheep had eaten it! Looking through other tweets this clearly isn't a one off occurrence, well...
Essential braces kit
Most brace wearers will soon discover that to get through the day, they will need to devise a small kit of essential items that will frequently come in handy. My own kit varied depending on what I was doing and where I was going but I always, and I mean always, had a...
A most difficult decision
Just after the orthodontist or therapist has checked your braces and removed any elastics or arch wires, a nurse usually appears with a colour wheel in hand to ask you what colour elastics you want on your braces this time. Now this, I can assure you, is a very...
Invisalign – How does it work?
In this video, the whole Invisalign process is described giving a fascinating insight into this clever technology.
BOS Orthodontics – making the right choice for you
I have now viewed this clip several times since first seeing it at the launch in London last week. It contains some really useful advice about questions to ask prior to starting treatment and is well worth watching.
The BOS Guide: Orthodontics for Adults
I was recently invited to an event hosted by the British Orthodontic Society to launch their new guide on orthodontics for adults. Prior to the main presentation, I had the opportunity to speak to Alison Murray, the President of BOS and Guy Deeming, the Chair of the...
Goodbye Miss Gappy – A lingual braces blog
I attended an event in London last week and was delighted to meet Charlotte who has recently finished her lingual brace treatment at the well respected London Lingual Orthodontic Clinic under the care of Asif Chatoo. Her blog is a detailed account of her treatment...
Whose responsibility is retention?
At the Scottish Dental show, I attended a lecture on orthodontics delivered by Robbie Lawson, a specialist orthodontist from Edinburgh Orthodontics. Towards the end of his presentation, he asked the question 'who's responsibility is retention?' and this is a very good...
An Invisalign update from Anna
Anna, who writes the 'a whole lot of chitty chat' blog has recently updated on her progress with Invisalign. She is now on tray 15 out of 17 and her post gives an honest reflection on what she has learnt so far with Invisalign. Here is an extract from the post:...
BOS warning on DIY braces
The British Orthodontic Society has issued a warning to members of the public about the dangers of DIY braces and given the recent publicity this has received and the potential rapid growth of these services, I thought I would write a short piece on this. A few weeks...
Do braces hurt?
On the rare occasions that people notice you have braces and are willing to talk to you about them, one of the top three questions that get's asked is "do your braces hurt?" This is a very subjective question as, if you were to ask ten people undertaking exactly the...
Watercress and braces
In a previous post I wrote about difficulty eating rocket leaves whilst wearing braces. I didn't take long to discover a solution, watercress! As well as being good for you and tasty, I found watercress didn't get tangled in my arch wires or brackets and very rarely...
Archwires
During my orthodontic treatment, and when I remembered, I asked to keep the arch wires when they were replaced with new ones. I was fascinated by how they were working between appointments to move my teeth and now that I have had a chance to look at the collection...
How to make an Essix retainer
Essix retainers seem to be the retainer of choice for many patients (and orthodontists) and this clip shows how one is made. It seems a simple process that both relies on the accuracy of the impressions taken at the surgery and the skill of the technician making the...
Philips Sonicare Diamond Electric Toothbrush – update
Following my previous post about this great electric toothbrush, I contacted the Philips aftercare team to ask about the short battery life. After taking some basic details from me and verifying my serial number they sent me an email asking me to return the brush to...
What I’m looking forward to after my braces come off
In just a few days time, my braces will be coming off so I have been giving some thought as to what I'm looking forward to. Here is my list. What I'm looking forward to after my braces come off curry, tomato based pasta sauces, salted nuts, crusty bread, red wine,...
Do adults wear headgear?
I have recently come across an interesting channel on YouTube from a UK based adult brace wearer who has headgear to keep her extraction gaps open whilst her bite is aligned. I will be asking Danni if she would be willing to write a post for this site to explain a...