Who Should Consider Ceramic Braces?

The process of straightening crooked teeth and closing unwanted tooth gaps is becoming increasingly easier and more comfortable. You don’t have to spend 18 months or more with an abundance of metal gleaming in your mouth to get the beautifully balanced bite you’ve always wanted. Ceramic braces offer a convenient and hassle-free alternative to all-metal brace designs. With clear, small-sized brackets, these appliances are virtually invisible. Best of all, in addition to being effective, they’ll let you maintain your confidence and natural good looks all throughout the treatment process. Read on to find out whether ceramic braces should be part of your orthodontic treatment plan.

Why Consider Braces at All?

Correcting issues with tooth alignment is important for a multitude of reasons. To start, establishing and maintaining a healthy bite is essential for limiting the effects of daily wear and tear. When the teeth are properly aligned, no single tooth structure is subjected to more pressure than it’s designed to sustain, or taking on more work than it can reasonably handle without becoming stressed or damaged. When bite forces are totally balanced, both chewing your food and talking clearly will easier and less taxing on your smile structure all-around.

A misaligned bite can actually create stress fractures and cracks in otherwise healthy teeth that will eventually let dangerous bacteria in. Over time, this can lead to cavities and the general breakdown of your natural tooth structures. This is actually one of the most common causes of cavities and widespread tooth decay. Thus, getting braces is about far more than building your ideal smile. Although realignment treatment can greatly boost your confidence, it’s also about protecting your teeth from a heightened possibility of tooth decay and even preventing future tooth loss.

Are Ceramic Braces the Better Alternative?

There has long been debate about whether metal or ceramic braces are capable of providing the best level of treatment. In reality, every patient and every patient’s needs are different. This is why scheduling a consultation appointment is always the absolute best way to discover which treatment option is going to work best for you. Currently, however, ceramic braces are largely held as being superior to metal wires and brackets in almost every way. This is especially true for adults who are interested in starting orthodontic treatment later in life, without negatively impacting their social and professional marketability. It is never too late to start proactively enhancing and protecting your smile, but it’s still a good idea to commit to an alignment option that allows you to look your best in every environment and situation. These clear brace designs allow adults to maintain polished and sophisticated appearances, even as they work to straighten their teeth.

Ceramic Braces are Surprisingly Comfortable

Ceramic braces are currently considered to be one of the most comfortable choices in smile realignment. Not only are they comprised of smooth and easy-to-wear ceramic, but their brackets are also rounded, and significantly smaller than metal brackets. This minimizes the likelihood of gum, inner lip, and cheek irritation, even after a prolonged period of wear. You can talk, chew, and make a variety of facial expressions without sustaining scrapes and abrasions on the inside of your mouth. Due to the high-durability and strength of these appliances, you’ll also retain the ability to continue enjoying nearly all of your favorite chewy and crunchy foods. These are differences that make smile realignment infinitely easier for even the most sensitive patients to bear.

Get a Higher Level of Overall Versatility with Ceramic Braces

Clear, removable aligners have certainly made a name for themselves within the fields of orthodontics and cosmetic dentistry. Although these popular, plastic appliances are just as inconspicuous and easy to wear as ceramic braces, and they can also be taken in and out of the mouth with ease, removable aligners are unable to resolve many of the significant, structural issues that ceramic braces can. Moreover, unlike clear, plastic aligners, ceramic braces can be used successfully in nearly every patient situation. In fact, even in instances in which ceramic braces on both the upper and lower teeth are not a feasible solution, the orthodontist can help you arrive at a reasonably inconspicuous combination of metal brackets on the bottom, and a clear ceramic appliance at the top. With so much flexibility and so many needs-specific solutions in orthodontic treatment, there is simply no good reason to continue putting realignment treatment off.

Some Patients Can Shorten Their Treatment Times with Ceramic Braces

When it comes to creating impressive and lasting results, ceramic braces may allow for the shortest possible treatment times in certain instances. That’s because these appliances remain fixed in place throughout the duration of treatment. This means that there is no likelihood of patients taking them out for meals or other activities, and then forgetting to put them back in. Although plastic aligners are designed to help expedite the treatment process, these appliances are only able to deliver superior results when patients are diligent about wearing them all or nearly all of the time. If you have significant structural issues to correct and yet still want comfortable and virtually invisible appliances, ceramic braces could be the best choice for you. Because they remain securely fixed in the mouth, these devices are also often the best choice for people who believe that they might frequently forget to put their removable aligners back in.

Protect Your Tooth Enamel and Enjoy an Easy Removal Process

The bonding agent used to attach ceramic brackets is always of the highest bond strength possible. As such, these braces are unlikely to cause issues with demineralization and loss of tooth enamel. This in turn leads to a much lower risk of developing cavities over the fairly lengthy treatment process. Better still, patients don’t have to worry about noticeable tooth discoloration developing around their brackets. Protecting your teeth while straightening them is a vital part of achieving a bright, healthy, and truly attractive smile that you can feel proud to show off. Not only does the innovative design of these appliances protect the tooth enamel, but it also makes removing ceramic braces post-treatment incredibly easy.

Choose Clear, Ceramic Appliances to Avoid Tooth Sensitivity

Metal braces have a reputation for causing sensitive teeth. This is largely due to the impact that they have on the health and integrity of the tooth’s protective enamel coating. If you want to continue enjoying hot beverages and soups, and ice cold drinks and ice cream, you should lean towards a ceramic brace design. Patients who choose ceramic appliances do not generally report problems with developing heightened tooth sensitivity as a consequence of their treatments.

Ceramic Braces Let You Look and Feel Great on Camera

These are also the best appliances to choose if you love taking pictures. No one wants to be the person with bright, reflective metal in their mouths in all of their photos. Whether getting braces right before your high school or college graduation, your wedding, or any other significant life event, you’ll still want to feel confident when smiling for the camera. With clear, ceramic appliances, your braces won’t show in photos at all. In this world of live video chats, live feeds, cell phone selfies, and professional portraits, it is important to commit to an alignment option that allows you to immortalize your memories on film, without feeling self-conscious, and as though you have to hide your teeth.

What to Expect During a Consultation Appointment

Setting up a consultation appointment will give the orthodontist a chance to learn more about your alignment issues, your aesthetic concerns, and your overall treatment goals. You’ll also find out more about the different realignment appliances that can help you achieve the desired outcome, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each. The overarching goal of this visit is to find the best solution for your needs.

Keep in mind that in addition to smile aesthetics, there are many other factors that will play a role in determining which brace type you might want to use. For example, there are cases in which ceramic braces are not a feasible solution for straightening the bottom row teeth, but even in these instances it is still possible for patients to use this design on the more visible teeth at the top of the mouth. Moreover, although these innovative appliances work similarly to metal braces, there are instances when metal braces actually allow for a shorter treatment overall. The good news is that the total difference in treatment times is rarely extreme.

Talking About the Underlying Causes of Alignment Problems During Your Consultation

Consultation appointments are also a great time to discuss some of the issues that often lead to a misaligned bite. In addition to correcting crooked and misaligned teeth, the orthodontist will want to make sure that you’re ready to establish the right life habits for maintaining the improvements produced by your treatment. Misalignment issues are frequently the result of genetics, but they can also be caused by mouth breathing, thumb sucking, and even biting your nails. If you engage in any of these potentially harmful behaviors, you can learn about simple lifestyle adjustments for protecting the overall structure of your smile long into the future.

Get a Durable and Stain-Resistant Alternative to Metal Braces

Not only are ceramic braces incredibly inconspicuous and easy to wear, the ceramic realignment appliances of today are also surprisingly durable and stain-resistant. As a raw material, metal is slightly tougher than ceramic, but ceramic braces have had their application and design enhanced throughout the years to ensure optimum resilience. Advances in orthodontic technologies have also allowed for the production of totally clear ceramic braces that are way less prone to discoloration than the slightly darker and more permeable designs of the past. If you want to straighten your teeth while maintaining a bright and healthy smile along the way, make an appointment with M. Scott Runnels Orthodontics! At our convenient locations in Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Freeport, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Panama City Beach, and Panama City, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Contact us today to set up your consultation!