HOW DO CERAMIC BRACES DIFFER FROM METAL BRACES?
Porcelain ceramic braces have the main benefit of being hard to see because they blend in with the teeth. For this reason, older kids and teens love them, as well as working adults.
Many of our patients also find ceramic braces to be a lot more comfortable than metal braces because metal brackets tend to have sharper, pointier edges.
The main downside with porcelain braces is the ceramic is slightly more prone to breakage than metal. (That said, they are still very durable!) Therefore, orthodontists are careful in adjusting clear ceramic braces. A little less tension can be held in the wires. This means that you might need to wear your ceramic braces for a little longer than traditional metal braces, a few years overall.
CAN I COMBINE CERAMIC BRACES WITH METAL BRACES?
If ceramic and metal braces both work by the same principles, you may wonder if you can wear them both at the same time. Yes and no. You cannot combine ceramic and metal brackets in the same set of braces on the same set of teeth. This would not work because ceramic and metal brackets work at different levels of tension.
However, you can get ceramic braces on your top teeth and metal braces on your bottom teeth, which aren’t that visible. In fact, this is a common solution for people who choose braces and want an affordable but invisible look.