Clear ceramic braces

We have been using clear ceramic braces for many years. At present , we are using Clarity SL (self-ligating) from 3M Unitek.

The wearing of Clarity clear ceramic braces, at least across the upper front teeth, allows adults and late teenagers to live their lives without everyone immediately realising that they are wearing braces. If an adult is wearing steel braces, they attract attention, regardless of the lighting situation. If, on the other hand,  they have their upper smile teeth bonded with clear ceramic brackets, many people won't notice at all that they are wearing braces. Of course, if someone is up-close regularly, they will probably see the clear braces.

While it is possible to place clear ceramic braces on both upper and lower front teeth, in our practice, in most cases, we try to limit the wearing of clear ceramic braces to the upper 6 or 8 teeth only. It is more difficult to control rotations of lower incisors and there is greater friction (resistance to sliding) with lower ceramic brackets. The most important factor though is that the ceramic material is really abrasive and, in most cases, the opposing upper teeth will be worn significantly when functioning against the lower ceramic brackets. For most adults, the lower lip tends to reduce the visibility of the lower braces anyway.

If set up with upper clear ceramics and lower normal steel braces, it should be possible to provide  orthodontic treatment with exactly the same chances of success as if upper steel braces were being used.