List of Pros and Cons of Lingual Braces
It’s no secret, people like for their smiles to look their best. But, no one likes to wear cumbersome braces on their teeth, especially as an adult. Having visible braces often makes people feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. With the advent of lingual braces, a person can now wear braces on the back of their teeth instead.
While this carries obvious benefits to the patient from an aesthetic standpoint, there are a variety of other concerns brought up by lingual braces detractors. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons that are associated with the installation of lingual braces.
List of Pros of Lingual Braces
1. Braces Are Not Visible.
The most obvious benefit to those who receive lingual braces on the back of their teeth is that they are not visible to the naked eye. While there are moments during the course of treatment where braces are visible on the outside of the teeth, patients will not be able to see their braces for the majority of their treatment’s duration.
Orthodontic braces are often shunned by patients because they do not wish to look silly or attract any sort of extra attention to themselves. Lingual braces provide people who need to fix their smile and struggle with self-consciousness with the treatment they require. There is no other form of orthodontic braces that can provide the same sort of function.
2. Made For A Variety Of Bites.
Lingual braces are able to treat almost every form of bite. Just because a person is told that they need conventional braces, this does not disqualify them from receiving a course of treatment that is centered on lingual braces. With very few exceptions, lingual braces can be used to treat every form of oral disfigurement, even the most serious.
The only difference between lingual braces and conventional braces is that lingual braces cannot be seen by others. A patient receives the same benefits from a treatment that is based on lingual braces. There are a wide range of brackets to choose from, allowing patients to shop around and find the right company to meet their oral needs.
3. Custom Made For Your Smile.
If you should decide on lingual braces to fix your teeth, then they are custom designed to fit your mouth specifically. There is no one size fits all plan when it comes to lingual braces. Positioning your teeth is no easy task and with lingual braces, you can rest assured knowing that your braces have been fitted to your mouth’s unique specifications.
Should you choose lingual braces, then a custom fitting is done, assuring that your braces are perfectly aligned with the contours of your teeth. All of the fitting is done behind the teeth, preserving the outside of them and enabling you to fix your smile without anyone knowing that you even have braces.
List of Cons of Lingual Braces
1. Treatments Take Longer.
If you are a dental patient who is constantly and does not have to sit through longer treatments, then lingual braces may not be the best choice for you. While orthodontic braces are less appealing from a visual standpoint, the treatments for conventional style braces are typically twice as short as treatments for lingual braces.
When time is a factor, lingual braces can make for increased difficulty. The treatment appointments for conventional braces are typically over after a mere fifteen minutes. Compared to lingual braces, whose treatment appointments can stretch on for at least a half hour, and it’s easy to see why some folks pass on lingual braces and opt for conventional.
2. Soreness Of The Mouth.
Lingual braces may make for a more aesthetically pleasing choice for your mouth, but the pain may not be worth it for those who are seeking a less intensive way to improve their smile. Lingual braces patients often complain of soreness after having them installed and once the appliance has been fitted to the mouth, tongue soreness is a very common complaint for many lingual braces wearers.
The soreness of the tongue typically persists for a few weeks after the initial fitting and may take even longer to subside permanently. A person’s speech patterns can even be affected by this, so if a person has a career that requires them to speak in important situations on a regular basis, lingual braces can be more cumbersome than conventional ones. The discomfort inside of the mouth is expected to subside eventually and speech patterns do eventually return to normal, but personal mileage may vary.
3. Heavy Cost Implications.
Having custom made lingual braces is great, as it keeps people from knowing that you are wearing any sort of corrective device. However, receiving a custom made set of lingual braces usually comes at a much heavier cost than other forms of braces, due to the extra work it provides for the dentist who installs them. Manufacturing this appliance tends to be quite costly.
If a person has a particularly complex case and is considered lingual braces, they may opt for conventional braces in order to save valuable time and money. Many dentists do offer payment plans to their patients who are interested in lingual braces, but these plans are not always affordable for people who are on a stricter budget. While lingual braces are expected to become more affordable over the course of time, the current circumstances surrounding their manufacture lead to heavier cost implications.