What is the average price of aesthetic/ceramic braces?

Many patients who come into the office want their teeth straightened or have just thought about it but aren’t sure they want traditional metal braces. They range from adults who don’t want to look like teenagers to teenagers who don’t want to have something as noticeable as metal braces.

One of the aesthetic alternatives to metal braces is clear or aesthetic/ceramic braces. And with the advances in technology, these have become a big hit in the last few years.

So, let’s look at the differences between metal and aesthetic/ceramic braces.

Differences between metal and aesthetic/ceramic braces

1.) Looks

If you’re familiar with metal braces, you know they stand out. But, they’re nothing like 10-20 years ago--they’re a lot smaller, but still very metal, very silver, and very noticeable in the mouth. The clear or aesthetic/ceramic braces are just that--clear and almost see-through from about 5-10 feet away. You almost can’t tell they are there--they’re just like little bumps on the teeth. So from a looks standpoint, they look nice.

2.) Size

When clear braces first came out, they used to be large, but they’ve gotten a bit smaller over the last few years and are approaching the same size as metal braces.

3.) Functionality

From a functional standpoint, these braces work as well as metal braces. But, this was not the case a few years ago. It took a little bit longer with the aesthetic/ceramic braces and they would tend to break more easily. With the advances in technology, we can get just as good of results with aesthetic/ceramic braces as we can with metal braces.

4.) Cost

There’s a bit of a cost difference between aesthetic/ceramic and traditional metal braces, but it’s not too significant. Many patients opt to spread their payments out over the course of treatment, making the difference almost negligible.

To find out if you’re a candidate for aesthetic/ceramic braces or if you would just like to see what they look like, visit an orthodontic office. There’s different brands--some a little clearer than others and some vary in shape. An orthodontist can definitely work with you to get the best and most ideal fit for you and your teeth.

When you visit an orthodontic office, be sure to to check out the working models of teeth to get a better idea if these will work for you. Our consultation room has hands-on working models of teeth with different types of braces and appliances on them. You can take the models into your hands and see the metal braces on the teeth versus the clear or ceramic braces. You can also see some of the other appliances we use, hold them, and turn them around in your hands, versus just looking at pictures.

One of our patients is a local police officer who wanted braces for a long time but his family couldn’t afford them when he was a child. For the past five to 10 years, he’s thought about getting braces but didn’t want noticeable braces like metal ones and worried he’d look like a kid with them.

When he came in, we showed him the aesthetic/ceramic braces and he was pleased with the look of the braces on the pictures and the model teeth in the office. He decided to go with them and he’s a few months into treatment. The other day he said his wife told him, “You’re smiling so much more.” He said he would never smile in family pictures before because he was so concerned about his teeth. Now, he’s had these braces on for about four months and he’s already saying, “They look wonderful; I’m ready to get them off.” But, we still have a few more tweaks to get it perfect for him.

Aesthetic/ceramic braces may also be ideal for you if you’ve always wanted to straighten your teeth but weren’t sure about having all that metal in your mouth.

Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg , Virginia Phone: 540-898-2200