Most people when you mention orthodontics or straightening teeth instantly think of the metal brackets and wires that they remember from their childhood. The reason that they are used is that they are the most efficient way of straightening teeth. What many people don’t realise is that there is a vast array of choices of brackets and wires that we can use for moving teeth. We will discuss some of these now:
Stainless steal brackets and wires – these are the mainstay of orthodontic treatment – they work predictably and well and if the appearance of the metal and wires is acceptable to you then they are an excellent choice.
Six Month Smiles system use tooth coloured brackets and tooth coloured coated wires to move teeth to help to disguise the fact that they are in place – they are very effective and economical alternate to the metal brackets and wires and are barely visible in normal social interaction.
Both of the above systems use elastic ‘ligatures’ to hold the wire into the brackets. Ligatures are small donut style elastics that are replaced on every adjustment appointment. With stainless steal brackets there are a huge array of colours available and the Six Month Smiles system uses clear elastic to minimise their appearance.
A very neat solution has been invented to avoid the use of these ligature elastics altogether. These are ‘Self-Ligating’ Damon Brackets that have a permanently installed moveable component to entrap the wire. This means that there is no discolouration of the elastic ligatures between adjustment appointments and makes the teeth easier to clean. Adjustment appointments are much shorter in duration as the wires can be simply removed and replaced without the need for placing a new ligature on every tooth.
Finally, for those who want to avoid metal brackets, there is the option of Damon Ceramic Brackets which give the ultimate tooth like appearance and strength and also come in Self-Ligating options to give the ultimate cosmetic appearance and simplicity in cleaning.
All of the above options are available to our patients at Marquess Dental giving you the full choice of treatment options.
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