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Clear braces

Clear Braces

Even though braces can ultimately make your smile healthier and more attractive, many patients hesitate to get treatment in order to avoid the mouthful-of-metal look. For patients who are concerned about their appearance during orthodontic treatment, clear braces are a revolutionary solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are clear braces?

Clear braces use the same technology as traditional metal braces but are made out of materials that make them less visible in your mouth. Traditional metal braces are composed of brackets, bands, and an archwire. The brackets are bonded to the front of your teeth, the archwire passes through the brackets, and the bands anchor the archwire in place on the brackets. The archwire is periodically tightened, which puts tension on your teeth and gradually moves them into a better state of alignment. While traditional braces are made of metal, which can be noticeable or unsightly in your mouth, clear braces use brackets that are made out of a clear ceramic, greatly reducing their visibility in your mouth. Some clear braces even make use of a tooth-colored wire, which reduces visibility even further.
Clear braces provide all of the cosmetic and medical benefits of traditional braces but do so with a treatment that’s much less conspicuous. This makes them a very popular choice for teenagers and adults who might be putting off orthodontic treatment because they want to avoid a mouth full of metal. Clear braces also have some advantages over invisible orthodontic aligners, which likewise offer a more discreet treatment than traditional braces. Clear braces are able to treat more complex issues, like correcting a bite, widening an arch, or turning a tooth in its socket, which might be more difficult to correct with invisible aligners.
Clear braces are functionally similar to traditional braces, meaning you care for them similarly as well. Your clear braces require you to maintain good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing daily, and you’ll have to come into the Duval Orthodontics office regularly to check in with your orthodontist and get your archwire tightened. You should stay away from darkly pigmented foods and beverages, like berries, coffee, and soda, as clear braces can stain more easily than traditional metal braces. They can also be slightly more brittle than traditional braces, so you’ll need to spend more time and care making sure that they’re kept up properly. Despite these drawbacks, clear braces offer an excellent way to improve your smile with the same efficacy as, but less visibility than traditional metal braces.