I am 26, and will be getting braces in 2 weeks. I'm really not thrilled on getting them, but been putting them off for so long. But once my teeth are straight I will be thrilled. There give you the choice of metal vs. clear. I thought about the clear, but read the disadvantage of the staining. I don't want to have to examine my food based on the coloring everytime I eat. But I also don't want to be really visible with the metal. Do the metal braces really show alot?

What are your experiences with the ones you have?

cathy

Whether you have metal brackets or clear brackets, the wire will end up being metal. All-in-all, after the first two weeks of your friends making their jokes, it all settles down and really doesn't make much difference.

Whether you have metal brackets or clear brackets, the wire will end up being metal. All-in-all, after the first two weeks of your friends making their jokes, it all settles down and really doesn't make much difference.hi , this is so true metal are smaller , but you can see them , i had ceramic in my first treatment an they were thicker an made my lips stick , but you couldn't see them as much , but the wires are metal an as treatment goes on the wires get thicker an bigger , the metal are a easyer to remove than ceramic , braces are braces an you can see braces , hope this helps , i'd go metal an i'm in metal at 47 , h**oe

Hi,
I have all metal braces. I would have to say that most people do not really care what kind of braces you have. I do not mind them at all. If you have more questions just ask.

Michele

I'd like to change the title here firstly from clear vs metal to "metal vs. clear".
I am 23yrs old and I have had my metal braces on both my top and bottom teeth for the past three months now. I too, had a tough time deciding between metal or clear. Any my theory was... you can see the clear braces anyway and even more when they stain. ( and they do discolor.)So to me, it is more important to have clean looking tracks and teeth. The metal really doesn't look bad at all. I have had many people stop and tell me how confident I must be in myself for doing what I have at my age and also people have respect for me because I cared enough about myself to improve my appearance.
Good Luck in making your decision...and good luck with all ahead! (It is all worth it!)

I'm 28 and have been in braces for a year and 4 months. When I first started I had all metal braces. I had to move for a job change and had to go to a new orthodontist. He wanted to "start over" with my treatment using a different brand of bracket. When I made the switch, I changed to clear on the top teeth and metal on the bottom. As everybody else has said, the actual wire they use is the same for clear or metal. The clear brackets do not stain . . . it is actually the "clear" ties that they use around the clear brackets that you have to be careful with. But they are changed every time you go back to the ortho so even if they do get a little dingy you will get new ones every 6-8 weeks depending on your appointments. And my doctor told me that anytime I thought the clear ties were getting stained I could go back in and have them changed. I only had to do that once because I was going to a formal Christmas Party. For the last several months they've used white wire around the brackets instead of the clear ties.

As for comfort, I haven't noticed much of a difference with the clear brackets vs. the metal ones. Yes, they are a little bigger but once you get them on you get used to them rather quickly.

Congratulations on making the choice to improve your smile! I've still got another year to go but I'm already thrilled with the improvements!

go with the metal and get silver rubbers. Not white cause they stain, or any other funky color cause you'll look like a walking neon ad. the only time i've seen metal braces look bad is when instead of the usual wire, they put in the metal chain which is stronger to finish the treatment faster. So you're whole mouth looks like a bear trap :P

Thank you all for replying. I went and had my braces put on this past tuesday. I finally just decided to get the metal with silver bands. It's not as bad as I had thought as far as appearance. I guess I just have to get use to it. I did make the mistake of looking at my teeth after they boned the brackets on without the wire and band and thought it looked real ugly. But after they put the bands and wire it looked okay.

Well, theres metal or invisaline... But metal is way better cause the other one gets soft drinks and other kinds of food in them so you would have to take them out ever time you eat with wouldnt be good for your teeth. thats wut my orthadontist said to me but u can get the clear brackets. but i chose not to cause if you have the braces you might as well show them off. No one made fun of me or anything and my friends love to make fun of me but they didnt make fun of my braces.. do go for what u feel