LINGUAL BRACES

Inside Braces
Lingual braces, which are sometimes called inside braces, are
another cosmetically pleasing alternative to traditional braces. They
look exactly the same but are placed on the inside of the teeth and
not on the outside.

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Cosmetically appealing  Can be costly
 Cannot be seen by others  Not suitable for difficult cases
 Less visible than plastic aligners  Can be uncomfortable in the beginning
 Dentist has more control over tooth  Adjustments take longer
movement  Can impair speech ability
 Easier for patient to comply than with  Initially might irritate tongue
removable aligners  Can trap food
 Certain foods may damage the braces
 More difficult to brush and floss your teeth
 Mostly suitable for teens & adults

TREATMENT PROCESS
First, dental impressions of your teeth will be taken and sent
to the lab where custom brackets and pre-bent wires with
special wire bending technology are made up. These will be
received by the dentist usually 4 weeks after the
impressions were taken.

At your appointment, bonding cement will be applied to all

the brackets and, with the use of an applicator tray,
simultaneously applied onto the inside of your teeth until the
cement cures. Thereafter, the applicator tray is broken off
and excess cement is trimmed and the pre-bent wires installed and rubber bands tied around the
brackets. Or you can choose self-ligating brackets which makes appointments faster than tying
bands around the brackets.

That’s it! All you need to do now is look after your braces and return for your adjustment
appointments. You’re one step closer to beautiful straight teeth!

COMPLIANCE
To comply with the dentists requirements, you have to arrive for your dental adjustment visits and
care for your braces and teeth. As food easily gets stuck in lingual braces and is difficult to clean in
general, it is imperative that you properly and correctly clean your braces and teeth. Failing to do
so could mean that bacteria, plaque and tartar accumulate creating an environment for tooth
decay and cavities.
DIFFICULTIES
As the tongue needs to get used to the feeling of the braces on the inside of your teeth, it might
get irritated or even sore for the first few weeks. You can wait for it to ‘toughen up’ using warm salt
water to assist with the healing process or you can apply numbing ointment to help you through
this transition time. Alternatively, your dentist can put protective silicone pads over the braces or
apply orthodontic wax over the sharp edges of the brackets and wires.

You might also experience some difficulty with your speech for about a month or so. Having said
that, the fact that the brackets are now smaller with rounded contours does help new users adjust
quite well to their braces.

People with deep overbites might too much pressure on their braces when closing their teeth or
dislogde them while chewing.

EATING
As food can easily get stuck in and more difficult to remove from lingual
braces than other brace types, it is wise to follow a few tips to help
avoid this. First up is to avoid food that is crunchy, hard or sticky food.
Another great tip is to cut up your food into small bite-size portions.
Fortunately there is a list of foods that we can recommend to help make
this easier for you. That would be cooked vegetables, soft bread, rice
pasta and fish. Foods to avoid are fruits like apples and raw veggies
like carrots and celery. Also not recommended are nuts, toffee, bubble gum and doughy type
foods like pizza crusts.

CLEANING
Lingual braces are notorious for being difficult to clean but it is
important that you do so after every meal. What will help greatly is a
toothbrush a with small head or you can consider purchasing an
electric toothbrush. You definitely still need to floss and using a
waterfloss device is possibly a great idea. Additionally, you could also
use pipe cleaners or special dental floss that your dentist can provide.

COSTS
Lingual braces cost about $9,000. Prices might vary according to location.