Brace or bracket is a important device of orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic brace can be divided into three types in accordance with the purpose of use: preventive, corrective, and maintaining brace; In accordance with using method, we have fixed and removable brace; As per the location, there are lip, lingual and invisible brace; As to the materials, there are metal, ceramic and macromolecule brace… Here the following shows six common and popular orthodontic braces.

Type I  Ordinary Metal Orthodontic Brace

Comfort  Level★★ Speed of Tooth Movement★★ Dimension★★★ Mucosa Irritation★★★ Referral Interval★ Aesthetics★                                                                                                                            

The biggest advantage of ordinary metal brace is affordable. However, it also has obvious shortcomings: ①brace and arch wire has to be fixed by ligature wires. During brushing, ligature wires are likely to be taken out by the bristles, stimulating the oral mucosa; at the same time, place around the ligature wires are likely to have food residues, which also increase difficulties in patient's oral hygiene. ② There is inherent friction between the metal brace and the arch wire. The worse the brace, the greater the friction, the slower the rate of tooth movement.

Type II  Ceramic/Mini Ceramic Brace

Comfort Level★★Speed of Tooth Movement★★Dimension★★★Mucosa Irritation★★★ Referral Interval★Aesthetics★★★

Ceramic or Mini Ceramic brace has no structural difference from the metal brace. The difference between these two types of brace is both the material and the arch wire of the ceramic brace are more approach to the tooth color. Thereby, ceramic/mini ceramic brace is more beautiful than the metal brace. It is also called semi-invisible brace. Nevertheless, compared with the metal brace, ceramic/mini ceramic brace is more likely to be broken because of its more fragile material.

Type III  Metal Self-ligating Brace

Comfort Level★★★Speed of Tooth Movement★★★★Dimension★★ Mucosa Irritation★★Referral Interval★★  Aesthetics★★

The structure of the metal self-ligating brace is differ from the above two types for its brace itself can fix the arch wire. ①Owing to the different structure, metal self-ligating brace has many advantages: the friction between the brace and arch wire has been decreased. It would reduce around 3 to 6 month of orthodontic period. ②Patients won’t feel obvious soreness; ③The dimension of the metal self-ligating brace is smaller than the ordinary metal brace, beyond this, it needn’t ligature wire, so it has less irritation towards mucosa and a little more beautiful than the ordinary metal brace.

Type IV  Ceramic Self-ligating Brace

Comfort Level★★★Speed of Tooth Movement★★★★Dimension★★Mucosa Irritation★★Referral Interval★★  Aesthetics★★★

Ceramic self-ligating brace, the high-end device among the fixed appliance, combines the aesthetics of the ceramic brace and the structural advantage of the self-ligating brace.

Type V  Lingual brace

Comfort Level★★Speed of Tooth Movement★★Dimension★★★Mucosa Irritation★★★★Referral Interval★  Aesthetics★★★★★

Beautiful is the greatest advantage of lingual brace. Looking from the oral outside, lingual brace is totally invisible. The disadvantage of lingual brace is foreign body sensation and more complicated to clean.

Type VI  Invisible Appliance

Comfort Level★★★★★Speed of Tooth Movement★★Dimension★ Mucosa Irritation★ Referral Interval★★★  Aesthetics★★★★

Invisible appliance is made from transparent material whose thickness is 0.8mm, so it’s very beautiful. Due to it needn’t to boned with teeth, patients seldom has foreign body sensation. Invisible appliance can be taken out in the important social occasions. What’s more, the referral interval is about 8 weeks or even longer.