Coloured Braces

Goatstown

Around thirty shades, from the obvious reds, blues and greens through to black, silver, gold and clear.

They are changed at every adjustment appointment, roughly every six to eight weeks, so there is a fresh choice each visit. Some children stick with one colour throughout, others pair colours by season or by county. More on our coloured braces page.

Exactly as standard metal braces do. The brackets are stainless steel and the wire is what moves the teeth. The colour comes from the small elastic rings that hold the wire into each bracket.

There is no clinical difference whatsoever between coloured and plain braces. Same brackets, same wires, same result, same treatment time.

However you like, with one practical caveat: whatever you pick stays on until the next appointment, six to eight weeks away. Worth mentioning to a child before they commit to something startling.

Beyond that, most children either pick a favourite and stick with it, match a team or a season, or change every visit for the sake of it. None of it affects the treatment.

Darker, cooler shades. Navy, deep blue, purple and dark green sit against the teeth in a way that makes them look brighter by contrast.

The opposite is also true, which is why white elastics rarely work as well as people expect. Against natural enamel, bright white can make teeth look slightly more yellow rather than whiter.

Clear, white and pale yellow are the ones people most often regret. They pick up staining quickly from curry, tomato sauce, coffee and blackcurrant, and they are the shades most likely to make teeth look yellower by contrast.

Nothing is off limits. It is worth knowing before you choose rather than six weeks afterwards.

Choose a darker shade, which hides staining far better than a light one, and rinse with water after anything strongly coloured.

Beyond that, accept it. Elastics discolour to some degree, which is precisely why they are replaced at every visit. Nobody wears the same set long enough for it to matter much.

No. Coloured braces are standard metal fixed braces, and the elastics are part of the appliance rather than an addition to it. Choosing colours does not change your fee, and changing them at every visit costs nothing extra.

What does affect the fee is the work itself: how crowded the teeth are, whether the bite needs correcting, and how long treatment will take. You will get a written plan with a firm figure at your consultation.

Yes. Coloured elastics are available on every fixed metal brace we fit at our Ballinteer Road clinic, at no extra cost, and your child chooses fresh colours at each adjustment appointment.

They are chosen mostly by children and younger teenagers. Adults who want a fixed brace but not the look of one are usually better served by ceramic braces.