Close-up ceramic braces on teeth at the dental clinic. Dentist holding dental tool. Orthodontic Treatment.
When it comes to traditional metal braces, should you stick to silver wires and brackets or go for clear ceramic braces? If you aren’t familiar with ceramic braces, they are a twist on the traditional metal brackets we know and love. If aesthetics are important to you (or how your smile looks), then ceramic braces will be an option you love. Traditional metal braces consist of the silver brackets and wires most teenagers and even adults wear. Ceramic braces have certain health benefits that traditional metal brackets don’t have, such reducing the risk of demineralization of your teeth around the brackets. Come learn more about the differences between our ceramic braces and traditional metal brackets and see what option you prefer!
Braces of all types have become more and more popular throughout the years. There are over 4 million people (around 4.5 million) in the United States alone that wear braces. We’re not just talking about teenagers either! About 25% of all people with braces are adults, and that number is rising each year. Adults are investing in the straightening power more and more each year because of the success and confidence it can bring them in social settings and professionally. Some studies show that straighter teeth can help patients do better in school, with their peers, and even professionally as an adult. Those with straighter teeth have been shown in studies to land a job easier over someone with a crooked smile as well.
Many people receive orthodontic treatment between the ages of 10-14. This is an ideal time where the head and mouth are still growing and teeth are easier to straighten. However, many children also receive early orthodontic care between the ages of 7-8. It’s never too late to receive orthodontic care though, which is why so many adults also choose to receive braces.
When you think of braces, you probably think of traditional metal braces that so many people wear. In the past, there was only traditional metal braces that people could receive to straighten their teeth. However, today there are several types of braces you can get when it comes to orthodontic care. These include:
You can also receive retainers after you’ve had braces that are permanent or removable. Some of our most popular options are traditional metal braces and their close cousin: clear ceramic braces.
These are the braces most people think of when they think “braces.” Traditional metal braces consist of metal brackets with a wire on the top set of teeth and along the bottom set of teeth. This is called the archwire. Metal brackets are placed on each individual tooth and bonded with a special glue that keeps them in place without hurting your tooth enamel. The archwire goes through each bracket and keeps the brackets in place. This archwire is also what helps the teeth move into proper alignment throughout the months you have traditional metal braces.
These braces are made from stainless steel, but can also be made of titanium. The most noticeable part about traditional metal braces is that they are front and center on the teeth where they can be seen. However, they are the cheapest option when it comes to receiving amazing orthodontic care, making this option so popular.
At our office, we offer you Clarity ADVANCED Ceramic Braces by 3M. This is a revolutionary system designed to be reliable, safe and enduring. Our clear ceramic braces are very similar to traditional metal braces except for their appearance and what they are made from. Ceramic braces are made of a strong ceramic material (hence the name). Ceramic material is already white, so when we use it to create a set of beautiful braces on your teeth, they become almost unnoticeable. Both the brackets and even the archwire can be made white so they blend right in. Ceramic braces are also very beneficial to the teeth because their material decreases the risk of demineralization from bonding agents and brackets. They do cost just a bit more than traditional metal brackets do, but you gain the benefit of how well the braces blend into your teeth.
Both our ceramic braces and traditional metal brackets are amazingly strong and will give you a smile you’ll adore. Both can be coupled with colorful bands and dressed up the way you want them. If you are ready to receive your traditional metal braces or clear ceramic braces, call our Hardy Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics office today at (720) 887-6003!
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to