What color braces did you/your child choose?

[castmember19]

When I had braces (four-five years ago?) I always opted to go with either black... or glow in the dark. The glow in the dark ones were my favorite.

 

[angwill]

Silver brackets and wires are the least expensive option and then every month when they change the bands you can choose different colors to match a holiday or just your mood. I didn't like the clear bands because I drink too much coffee so they would turn yellow/brown. The band colors fade as the month passes as well.

 

[SingingMUA]

I got braces as a young adult (around 21). I had clear brackets, but would change the band colors on the bottom. I would usually stay with white/clear bands on the top, and do colors on the bottom (blue, pink, green, purple, etc). I found that if I got color on top and bottom, it was a little too much *for me*. But I liked the flash of color that came from just getting color bands on the bottom.

And, sigh... like a PP said, I may need to get braces again, as my bottom teeth have shifted, thanks to the fact that I broke my bottom retainer and never got a new one. I got my braces off about 8 years ago. Had them for about 4 years.

 

[sparks19]

When I had braces I had the silver brackets. I put all kinds of colored bands on them but the actual metal parts were silver.

My best friend got the clear and she HATED them. It looked like she always had gunk on her teeth. At least with the silver people see them and are like "Oh braces" with the clear it was more like "Oh you've got something on your... OH braces". she hated them.

those are the only two colors I have experience with. DD is going to need braces one day I'm sure of it. both dad and I had to have them as did all the siblings on both sides. so I think she's doomed to have crowded teeth lol

 

[scrapquitler]

There's four options now I guess: tooth colored, silver, clear, or white. My concern with the clear is that they seem to yellow over time. What color did you or your tween choose and why? Are you happy with the color? Are certain colors more expensive than others?

My DD had the silver brackets, and the bands/wire were whatever color she felt like getting at the time. She had school colors (blue and orange) at one point, red and green for Christmas, etc.

My cousin (who is my DD age) had a bet with his friend and one point, and if he lost the bet, he had to get PINK wires/brackets the next time he went to the orthdontist...He lost the bet and wore pink for about two months afterwards.

 

[Rora]

Silver.

I wouldn't recommend the clear to anyone. Worst idea ever.

 

[Straitlover]

I got braces back in like 2005 (or was it 2006???). Anyway, it was not too far after I turned 40. I had clear brackets on top, silver on bottom. I did that because clear cost more, and you can't see the bottom ones very much, so i saved the extra $300. I had them on for 17 months (came off a month early!), and I had no problem at all w/ the clear brackets yellowing.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

I had silver, and I enjoyed picking different colored bands each time I went in to get tightened. My mom always steered me away from choosing green bands though, she didn't want it to look like I had lettuce in my teeth all the time!

 

[katesorad]

Ds's are plain old boring silver. I paid for upgraded brackets that have levers on them to hold the wires in place. No colored bands required. Supposedly, the brackets hold the wires better than the bands which loosen, thus shortening the time needed in braces. Or, I fell for a marketing ploy and got ripped off

Anyway, the only thing that ever gets changed/adjusted are the wires.

Same exact case with me. I had braces from 13-15. Worst two years ever! No cool colors, just plain old metal mouth. And the wire was ALWAYS hurting!

 

[crz4mm2]

I chose gold (the ortho said they were LESS noticeable- but that was not true if you ask me).
DD picked silver (as did DS).

I thought about clear, but was afraid coffee/tea would stain them.

 

[Pikester]

My DS9 has an expander which you can't see but does have black brackets on his two front teeth. He has silver wire that connects to the expander and runs through the brackets. He gets to choose a different color wire every 6 to 8 weeks or so. He seems to like the black brackets.

 

[goofy!]

Same exact case with me. I had braces from 13-15. Worst two years ever! No cool colors, just plain old metal mouth. And the wire was ALWAYS hurting!

I think DS is ready to kill me for agreeing to the speed brackets. On Tuesday, he had double wires put in. Ortho told him it would hurt (really hurt) for about 24-48 hours. Saturday, he is still sucking down the advil. And he is not a pain wimp by any means.

 

[teacup princess]

Ds's are plain old boring silver. I paid for upgraded brackets that have levers on them to hold the wires in place. No colored bands required. Supposedly, the brackets hold the wires better than the bands which loosen, thus shortening the time needed in braces. Or, I fell for a marketing ploy and got ripped off

Anyway, the only thing that ever gets changed/adjusted are the wires.

My daughter had these but could get a different color wire each time they changed the wire. They also put some sort of colored dot on a few of the brackets if I remember correctly. Not sure what that was for.

 

[tvguy]

Silver. Because that was the only color they had.

 

[klj27]

My daughter's are clear on top and silver on bottom. I am really glad we paid the $200 extra dollars for the clear tops. They are hardly noticable in pictures, etc. They haven't yellowed at all and she has had them for a year and a half.

 

[Kath2003]

When I had the fixed braces, the brackets that were glued to my teeth and the wire were white/tooth coloured. The elastic bands that held the wire in place were clear. When the elastics were first put on, you could barely see the braces from a few yard away, but over the course of the month, the elastics "yellowed" and they became more visible. I tried to avoid any strongly-coloured food as that caused them to "yellow" more quickly - pizza sauce/spaghetti sauce was the worst

My other sister had the same as me, but my youngest sister had the white brackets & wire, but then had coloured bands. The coloured bands were good fun and she enjoyed picking out a new set of colours every month, but it defeated the point of having white brackets/wire (in that the main idea is that they were less visible) by drawing llots of attention to her braces. As the white brackets/wire cost more, I never saw the point of that, but it wasn't my money

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I got ceramic--and they do give an illusion (IMHO as an observer and as a wearer) that the teeth are not clean. They won't necessarily "yellow" with good dental care (and maybe watching particluar staining products)...plaque on the teeth will contrast more if that is an issue--but even the most sparkly cleaned teeth have an illusion from a distance that makes you wonder if it is braces or someone with bad dental hygeine.

However--I much preferred my ceramic brackets to the metal brackets.

Many folks with kids that I know, the kids choose the metal and then pick all sorts of crazy colors for their braces. So ask your child what they prefer.

I had wanted to do something on-air in college and the ceramic braces were preferred. So to not harm my chances any more, that is why I got them. I had them for a year and was still able to get the on-air position in college.

 

[mamacatnv]

Ds's are plain old boring silver. I paid for upgraded brackets that have levers on them to hold the wires in place. No colored bands required. Supposedly, the brackets hold the wires better than the bands which loosen, thus shortening the time needed in braces. Or, I fell for a marketing ploy and got ripped off

Anyway, the only thing that ever gets changed/adjusted are the wires.

My DS had the "Damon System"

Self ligating brackets, also known as speed brackets, do not use bands. My son has these.

Self Ligating Braces

Self Ligating Braces are braces with brackets that do not need ligatures (the small bands that hold the wire in place). You may also hear them referred to as "speed braces". Rather than using ligatures or metal ties, the brackets themselves have a sort of trap door that holds the arch wire in place. According to manufacturers this creates less friction between the wire and the bracket.

Self-ligating brackets have many benefits. A common claim made by the manufacturers of these types of brackets is that they require less frequent office visits. They are also said to be easier to clean and somewhat more comfortable, as there is less resistance between the brackets and the arch wire.

My DS's were like this - there was only one ortho in town that did them, he was competitively priced and my dentist really liked his work. DD will be going the same route next year.

I personally hate the color bands, it just do.
DS's brackets were tiny, they were half silver and half clear. Once glued on, a single wire was slipped in and secured by the back holders. No expanders, no pulled teeth, no multiple wires. His visits were about once a month to once every 6 weeks to change out the wire (in and out in about 15 minutes) I loved his braces, I love the results and so does he.
He wore his for 18 months. Everyone else in town estimated 24