Fixed braces

This type of brace is temporarily glued on to the teeth during treatment. They are able to rotate teeth, move the roots of teeth and close spaces to achieve teeth straightening with a high degree of precision. It is possible for private patients to have tooth-coloured ceramic brackets fitted to improve the appearance of fixed braces. Alternatively, if you want faster treatment, that may also reduce the need for teeth to be extracted, then consider the metal self-ligating braces, such as the Damon Q bracket system.

Tooth-Coloured Braces

Cosmetic tooth-coloured brackets work in an identical way to conventional metal braces. These fixed clear braces can be made from plastic or ceramic, and whilst the plastic variety cost less, we do not offer them as they are much more prone to fracture, damage and discolouration. In certain types of bite, it may not be suitable to fit these tooth-coloured brackets to your lower teeth, but this is rarely the case. After downpayment of your initial deposit, ceramic braces cost from £130 per month.

Pros of tooth-coloured braces

  • This type of fixed brace is much less noticeable than a conventional metal fixed ‘train-track’ brace, and now even the wires can be tooth-coloured instead of metal.
  • As each part of the ceramic brace is independently fitted to your teeth in the practice, any problems with breakage or modification required during your treatment can normally be easily and quickly rectified.
  • Treatment with a tooth-coloured fixed brace should take no longer than the time a metal brace would take for the same treatment.
  • This type of cosmetic appliance is the most affordable option we currently provide. Please contact us if you require more information on the cost of ceramic braces to improve your smile.

Cons of tooth-coloured braces

  • The majority of these ceramic tooth-coloured braces require tiny elastic bands (which create the colour options on a conventional metal brace) to keep the main archwire in place. Whilst the individual brackets on a ceramic fixed brace maintain their colouring in almost all cases, unfortunately the elastic bands may discolour with tomato puree, curry or red wine. However the elastic bands are changed on a monthly basis.
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Recently developed ‘self-ligating’ tooth-coloured braces do not need elastic bands to keep the wire in place, hence the discolouration is not a problem. We will be happy to provide a demonstration of either ‘Damon-Clear‘ or ‘Inovation-C‘ clear braces to illustrate this option to you.